“She wrote me two weeks ago.”
I took the page.
Maya had told Adele that I was bitter, that I’d made things difficult, that I’d kept the girls close only to punish her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wanted to know what she was doing first.”
“She wrote me two weeks ago.”
“And now?”
“Now I know.”
Jerome, Adele’s fiancé, walked into the kitchen carrying seating cards and paused when he caught our expressions.
“Bad time?”
Adele glanced at him. “My mother texted Dad.”
Jerome set the cards down. “She’s coming?”
“My mother texted Dad.”
“With Harry,” Adele said. “And I need the box.”
I looked at him. “Don’t get dragged into this.”
“I’m marrying into this family in three days,” he said. “I think the dragging already happened.”
Adele placed a hand on my arm. “Please, Dad. Let me handle it.”
“You don’t know what that box will do.”
“I know what her lie is already doing.”
“Please, Dad. Let me handle it.”
I studied my daughter. I could still see the girl on the stairs, but she wasn’t a child anymore.
“What are you going to do with it?”
“Use it only if she lies.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Then it stays closed.”
That felt fair.
“Use it only if she lies.”
The box sat where it always had, tucked behind old papers and an unused blanket. I lifted it down with both hands and brought it back to her.
“There,” I said, placing it on the table. “Fifteen years.”
On the day of the wedding, I was awake before the sun rose.
I stood in a small room struggling with my tie when Jerome walked in.
“Need help?”
I woke before sunrise.
“I raised six girls,” I said. “You’d think I could handle fabric by now.”
He straightened the knot. “You handled the hard part. Today is about Adele. But I know what it took to get her here.”
I had to blink back tears.
“Take care of her.”
“I will.”
The door swung open, and Lucille stormed in like she was walking into a battle.
“I raised six girls.”
“If Maya makes a scene,” she said, “I’m walking outside before I say something I can’t take back.”
Behind her, Shannon stepped in wearing a soft blue dress, fidgeting with her bracelet.
