Ten Words on a Phone Screen Turned My Family’s Breakfast Upside Down

The question hung in the quiet room.

I watched her little hands twisting the yellow fabric.

“Aunt Vanessa isn’t here,” I said.

“I wanted to sit in the chair,” Emma said.

Her voice was still a tiny, cracked whisper.

“It was the big chair.”

“I know, baby,” I said.

“She yelled at me,” Emma said.