I hung up because there was nothing left between us that required a private conversation.

That night, I came home around midnight after my shift.

PART 16

A few weeks before that quiet midnight, Lily came home from school with a folded permission slip in her backpack.

Her class was taking a short trip to a science museum, and the teacher wanted every parent to sign by Friday.

She placed the paper on the kitchen table and stepped back.

“Do you want to go?” I asked.