The clear admission mattered more than another long apology.

She asked whether they could still move to Minnesota.

I looked toward the stairs.

The move was her decision to arrange.

She did not need my legal permission to live in a state.

What she was asking was whether there remained a place for them in my life, and whether the return she had hoped for was now impossible.

I understood the question in that form.

“I’m not going to punish Toby for something the adults chose,” I said.