Isolation. Trial runs.
By six that evening, the wedding website was down. By seven, my attorney had served a formal notice barring Vanessa from the property after removal of her belongings. By eight, June was asleep on Mara’s shoulder in the den, still holding the rabbit by one leg.
Lily stayed awake with me.
“Are you mad at me for recording her?” she asked.
I turned off the TV none of us were watching.
“No,” I said. “I’m mad I made you think you had to.”
She nodded like that answer matched something she’d already decided.
Then she asked the question I deserved.
“Why didn’t you know?”
There isn’t a smart answer to that. Not one that doesn’t sound like an excuse.
“I was listening to the wrong person,” I said. “And I got used to thinking money and security meant control. They don’t.”
