You have never been something shameful.

You were a wonderful surprise, and nothing that happened between him and me was your doing.”

She thought about this for a long time.

“Can I go see the stars again?”

“Of course.”

That night at the hotel, she asked one more question as I tucked her into bed.

“Can he come to my next birthday if he wants?”

“We’ll talk about that when we know more,” I said.