“She has a mark on her head.

I’m taking her to a doctor.”

“It’s just a misunderstanding,” my mother said.

She picked at her thumbnail again, glancing anxiously at the neighbors’ closed windows across the street.

“Take the coat,” my mother said.

“Don’t carry her out here half-dressed like some neglected child.”

I reached out and pulled the coat firmly out of her hands.

I wrapped it around Emma’s shoulders without trying to get her arms into the narrow sleeves.