Chapter 18 - What We Almost Lost
We moved into the new house on a sunny Saturday in early summer.
It was smaller than the old one, but it felt like ours from the first minute. Yellow walls in the kitchen. A big backyard with room for a garden. A porch swing where Lily and I could sit and watch the stars.
The first thing we did was plant flowers.
Lily chose pink roses and purple hydrangeas. We worked side by side in the dirt, laughing when the hose sprayed us both.
That night, we sat on the porch swing with lemonade and watched fireflies.
“Mom,” Lily said. “Do you think Dad can see us?”
I looked up at the sky.
“I think he can,” I said. “And I think he’s proud.”
She was quiet for a while.
“I miss him,” she said. “But I’m glad we have each other.”
I pulled her close.
“Me too, baby. Me too.”
Later, when she was asleep, I walked through the house one last time before bed. I touched the walls, the doorframes, the new furniture.
This was ours.
No lies. No fear. No one waiting in the dark to take what we had.
Just us.
May you like
And that was enough.
More than enough.
