I took a quiet breath, the rigid boot feeling heavy on my foot.

“He said that to her?”

“She went completely silent,” Ethan said.

“She didn’t answer him.

She walked straight into her bedroom and shut the door.”

My father walked into the seating area carrying Noah, whose small blue socks were slipping off his toes.

“He had a good look at the trees,” my father said, settling Noah higher on his shoulder without taking his eyes off Ethan.

“The urgent care doctor said ten days minimum in the boot,” I told my father.