She wasn’t staring at her arms.
She wasn’t checking her reflection in the hallway mirror.
“Love you, Mom,” she called.
“Love you too, sweetheart.”
She opened the door, then turned back.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for not calling Tyler’s mother that first day.”
I smiled.
“Why?”
“Because I think I needed to figure out what I wanted to say myself.”
I walked over and hugged her.
“You did a wonderful job.”
After she left, Daniel came into the hallway and stood beside me.
“Think she’ll be okay?” I asked.
He watched the empty doorway for a moment.
“She’ll have difficult days. She’ll make mistakes. Someone else might hurt her feelings someday. We can’t prevent all of that.”
He took my hand.
“But I think she knows she doesn’t have to face it alone.”
I looked toward the refrigerator, where my portrait was still hanging.
For the first time in weeks, I didn’t feel angry at Tyler.
