She Walked Out, and Ten Years Later She Showed Up With Expensive Gifts at a Twelfth Birthday Dinner

“No, we aren’t,” I said.

“That man took a picture of my closet,” she said.

“He asked whether my window opens all the way.”

I picked a yellow pencil up off the counter and lined it up with the sharp edge of the table.

“I’m taking care of it, Lily.”

“Mark said a judge can make people sell a house if there are two names on the property tax bill,” she said.

“Mark’s twenty-two,” I said.