Chapter 2 - Did You See Her Touch It
The grass felt soft under my shoes and too loud in my ears. Every step toward Brook had eyes on it. Emma's hand was small and hot in mine, her fingers squeezing and letting go like she couldn't decide whether to hold on or run. Behind Brook, the bounce house kept thumping as a kid jumped inside it, alone now. Pink and white balloons bobbed over the cake table. I could see the cake from the side, the bottom tier leaning, pastel frosting smeared across the white tablecloth.
Brook was already talking before we stopped. "She ruined Sophie's birthday." Her voice carried. "She needs to apologize."
I felt Emma flinch. She pressed into my leg, her yellow dress brushing my khakis. I put my hand lightly on her shoulder. I didn't look at the cake yet. I looked at Brook.
"Brook," I said. I kept my voice low enough that she had to stop to hear me. "Slow down a second."
"There's nothing to slow down," she said. Her arms were crossed tight over her coral top. A piece of her dark hair stuck to her cheek and she didn't brush it away. "Sophie is crying in the kitchen because of her."
That was when I heard Sophie. A thin crying from near the back door of the brick house, the kind where a kid tries not to sob and can't stop it. One of the older men near the fence turned his head toward the sound. The girl in the pink dress by the bounce house just stared at us, hugging her own arms.
I knelt for a moment, just enough to be level with Emma. Her eyes were watery, fixed on me. Her ponytail had come a little loose.
"Stay right by me, okay?" I said quietly. "I'm right here."
She nodded once. I stood again and faced Brook. The sun was bright on the side of her face. I could see the tension in her jaw.
I asked it plain. "Did you actually see Emma touch the cake?"
The bounce house thumped behind us. For a second Brook didn't answer. She glanced toward the house where Sophie was crying, then back at me.
"I saw the cake," she said. "I came out with the juice boxes and the whole side was smeared. Frosting on the cloth. And she was right there." She tipped her chin toward Emma. "Right there by the table."
"Right there isn't seeing," I said.
Brook's mouth opened. "Dan—"
"Did you see her hand on it?" I said. "Did you see her push it or pull the cloth?"
Emma's fingers tightened around two of mine. Brook exhaled hard through her nose. The two older men had gone quiet. Somebody turned the music down at the folding chairs.
"No," Brook said finally. "I didn't see her hand on it. I saw what was left. What else am I supposed to think?"
Around us, the air shifted. One of the older men muttered something I didn't catch. A woman by the chairs said Sophie's name softly, like she wanted to go to her and didn't want to walk through us to do it.
Brook heard it too. Color came up her neck. "She was the only kid over there," she said faster now. "Maya was in the bounce house. Sophie was inside getting her crown. Emma was by that table alone. You do the math."
I didn't move. "I'm not doing math with a five-year-old."
"Well, I'm not ruining Sophie's day twice," Brook said. Her eyes flicked down to Emma and back up. "She needs to say she's sorry so Sophie can come back out and we can fix the cake for pictures."
I felt Emma go still beside me. Not crying. Just waiting to see what I would do with her name in Brook's mouth.
I shook my head. "I'm not making her apologize for something nobody saw her do."
"You're kidding me." Brook's voice sharpened. "In front of everybody?"
The crying from the house got louder, then stopped short, like someone had closed the door. The girl in pink took a half step back toward the bounce house net, watching us. Brook looked past me toward the house, torn.
May you like
"Go check on Sophie," I said. "I'll stay out here with Emma."
Brook stared at me. For a moment I thought she was going to say it again, louder, make someone choose a side. Instead she pressed her lips together, turned on her white sneakers in the grass, and walked fast toward the brick house without looking back.
