“Separation papers.”
Sophie inhaled sharply.
“You’re divorcing me?” Mark demanded.
“I am not staying married to a man who could look at his child and call her a complication.” I paused. “I’ve already packed my bags.”
The words settled over everything like snow.
Daniel moved first. He stood, walked around the table, and stopped in front of Maya. He looked at her for a long moment.
“I’ve already packed my bags.”
“Hi,” he said awkwardly. “I guess I’m your brother.”
Her lips trembled into a small smile. “I guess so.”
Sophie stood then and pulled Maya into a careful hug.
Mark remained at the head of the table.
Alone.
I turned to him one last time.
Mark remained at the head of the table.
“You were afraid the truth would destroy this family,” I said. “What destroyed it was the lie.“
Then I put my arm around Maya’s shoulders, and I felt her lean into it, just slightly, just enough, and I thought about how she had sat in that hospital lobby watching the entrance like she’d been waiting all night.
She had been waiting a lot longer than that.
And so, I realized, had I.
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