For the first time in a long while, she sounded unguarded.

I sat at my kitchen table with the bills and realized that losing money was painful, but losing my daughter’s sense of safety would have cost us much more.

I sent Elena a note thanking her for helping.

She replied that she’d come over tomorrow with coffee and some containers for the leftover cake.

The next morning Mabel woke me by tapping my wrist.

She’d brought the bracelets.