‘Did Matthew break a promise?’ I said he had promised to help us feel like a family, and some of his choices had made her feel left out.

I told her that was something the adults needed to take seriously.

She thought about this for a while, then asked whether I was mad at her for telling me.

The question made my throat tighten.

I had assured her dozens of times that she hadn’t caused the canceled wedding.

Yet the worry had survived.