From that first moment, she felt ours completely.
***
I watched her bounce around the kitchen in her pink birthday dress, asking every five minutes when her grandmother Beverly would arrive with the « special cake » she had promised.
I had spent years trying to have a baby.
« Mom, when is Grandma getting here? » Lila asked for what felt like the hundredth time since breakfast, her eyes bright with anticipation. « She said she had a present I’d never forget! »
« Soon, baby, » I said.
Lila grinned and ran outside to check the driveway. I stayed in the kitchen, feeling the familiar knot in my stomach that always appeared when Beverly was involved.
Like most kids, my daughter just wanted to be loved by everyone around her. But my mother-in-law (MIL) had never made it that easy.
