Minutes earlier Vanessa had moved through the yard like a queen surveying her court. Now she walked carefully, like someone crossing thin ice, forcing smiles at guests who had heard everything and were already deciding how they’d retell it later.

Elena stayed beside Mia while Parker opened his presents. The dinosaur puzzle came last, because Mia had held it tightly, waiting. When Parker tore off the paper and saw the illustrated box, he looked at Sloane, then his mother, then back at Mia.

“It’s cool,” he said.

The words weren’t loud or brave. But for a ten-year-old boy raised by adults who’d taught him the wrong things, they were something.

Mia’s shoulders eased a little. “You can build the volcano part first.”

“Maybe later we can do it,” Parker said.