Chapter 4 - Thank God You Are Home
I heard the garage door before I saw him, that low rumble under the kitchen floor and then the click of the interior door. The air shifted. Vanessa straightened her blouse like she'd been waiting for a cue.
Nathan came in from the left, briefcase in one hand, suit jacket still buttoned. Navy suit, white shirt, tie a little loose at the throat. He stopped two steps inside the kitchen, taking in the brightness first and then the parts that didn't fit. Me standing on the right side of the island with my hands empty at my sides. Lily and Sophie tucked center under the overhang, Sophie's face pressed into Lily's shoulder.
His eyes moved from the untouched bowls on the table to Vanessa, then back to the girls.
Vanessa crossed to him fast. Her heels clicked once on the tile and then she lowered her voice, but not enough. She wanted us to hear it.
"Thank God, you're home. Maya is upsetting the girls again."
The words landed flat in the warm daylight. I felt Sophie flinch even without seeing her whole face. Lily's hands tightened around her sister. The stainless hood over the stove ticked as it cooled.
Nathan set his briefcase down slow. He looked at Vanessa, then at me. His brow pulled together.
"What happened?"
I could have answered. I had a whole sentence ready about finding them under the dining table and trying to get them to eat. I swallowed it. If I talked first, it would just be her story against mine again, and he'd already heard hers a dozen times. I kept my eyes on Lily. Let them react first. That was the only honest thing left in the room.
For a second nobody moved. The refrigerator hummed. Sunlight cut across the wooden cabinets and pooled white on the counter.
Nathan loosened his tie and crouched a little, trying to see under the island without getting too close. "Girls? Lily? Why are you under there?"
Lily didn't look at him. She looked at Vanessa, quick and sideways, then down at Sophie. Sophie had her bear crushed to her chest, its ear bent under her chin. She breathed through her mouth, small and fast.
Vanessa folded her arms. "I told them to go upstairs ten minutes ago. Maya told them they could stay down here. Now look at them."
Nathan glanced up at me. "Maya?"
I shook my head once. Not denial. Not yet. Just wait. I shifted my weight so I wasn't looming over the island. My shadow pulled back off the tile, leaving the dim space under there theirs.
"Hey," Nathan said softer, to the girls. "It's morning. You guys want breakfast? Dad's home for a minute. I can —"
"No," Lily said. It came out too fast. She caught herself and tucked her chin. Sophie whimpered and burrowed closer.
Vanessa exhaled through her nose. "See?"
Nathan straightened partway, his hand resting on the edge of the counter. He looked between us, confused in a real way, not performing it. He wasn't a man who liked scenes in kitchens. He liked problems he could fix before his next call.
"Ness," he said, quiet. "Give me a second, okay?"
"I'm giving you the morning," she said. "I had it handled until —" She stopped herself and pressed her lips together. She stepped back toward the stove, putting space between her and me like that made the sides clear.
I stayed on my side. Right hand on the cool quartz, left hand loose. I could feel my heartbeat in my fingertips. I didn't look at Vanessa. I watched Lily watch her father.
Nathan bent again, lower this time, his suit pants pulling tight at the knee. "Lily-bug. Can you tell me what's going on? Are you scared?"
Lily's mouth opened. Nothing came. She glanced at the hallway, then at the stairs beyond it, then at Sophie. That sideways check again. Measuring who could hear.
Sophie whispered something into Lily's blue sleeve. I couldn't catch it. Lily nodded once and put her cheek against the top of Sophie's head.
May you like
Nathan saw it too. His concerned look changed, just a fraction. Less annoyed. More stuck. He looked up at me over the island.
I met his eyes and didn't speak. Let the girls be the witnesses. Let him have to look at where they chose to sit.
