He thought about the planning that must have gone into this. Four of them in matching navy dresses watching the room for 11 minutes deciding on him. He pushed the money back toward them.
Keep it, he said. But we need to pay you, Lily said. Otherwise, it’s not real. Then consider it a trade, Liam said. I’ll sit with you, you sit with me.
a pause. « Deal. » Lily looked at the other three. Something passed between them. Some signal that traveled on a frequency adults couldn’t quite catch. « Deal, » she said. The coin purse stayed on the table between them.
Liam turned the button over once in his palm and set it down. Then, Violet said with the careful tone of a child who has been thinking about a question for a while and finally decided to ask it.
« Does Tio know his mom is gone? » The table went quiet in a different way than before. Yes, Liam said. Does he ask about her? Every day for the first year, Liam said.
Less now, but still. Violet thought about that. What do you say? Liam looked at the button. Anchor yellow. Lighter than it should be. I say she had to go somewhere we can’t follow yet, he said.
And that she left us both something to carry for her. Rose tilted her head. What did she leave you? He was quiet for a moment. Theo. And what did she leave Theo?
Me. Rose absorbed this with the seriousness it deserved. Iris was looking at her own hands. Lily had not moved. That’s a good answer, Violet said. Finally. I’ve had three years to work on it, Liam said.
continue 👇
He said it without self-pity. Just the plain fact of time and repetition. The way a man says something he has said so many times, it no longer costs him as much to say it, even though it still costs him something.
