My Daughter Said Her Back Hurt—Then I Learned What My Wife Did-yilux

That movement told me more than Jimena ever could.

Children do not lean into safety by accident.

“Since what time?” I asked.

“What?”

“Since what time has my nine-year-old been carrying an eighteen-month-old child?”

Jimena folded her arms.

“I don’t know. A while.”

“A while?”

She sighed, already bored with accountability.

“I had a headache. You know I’ve been exhausted. She’s older now, Esteban. She can help. My mother had siblings raising siblings by six.”