I had been prepared, for two years, to absorb a great deal on my own behalf.

I had told myself I could handle Patricia’s coldness, and Ethan’s dismissiveness, and Megan’s entitlement, that I was strong enough to keep the peace and hold the family together and endure what needed enduring.

And perhaps I was.

But the calculation changed entirely the moment there was a second person in it — the moment the person being locked out in the rain was not only me but her.

Because whatever I chose to endure, I would be choosing for her too.