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“You didn’t have to.”

She smiled before looking at Penelope.

“Hi.”

Penelope laughed softly.

“Hi.”

For a few seconds, the house almost felt normal again. Mama was home. Maylee was being nosy. Penelope was trying not to laugh at her, and I was standing there wishing everybody would leave me alone. Then Maylee turned back toward Mama.

“Where’s Daddy?”

The question wiped the brief smile from my face. Mama’s expression changed too, although she recovered quickly. Her hand moved over Maylee’s hair before settling against the back of her head.

“He’s not home right now.”

Maylee frowned.

“Where is he?”

I stayed where I was. This was exactly why Pops had told me to let Mama handle it. Maylee deserved to hear what happened from one of our parents, not from me trying to find some watered-down version of the truth that wouldn’t scare her.

Mama looked down at her for a long moment before taking her hand.

“Come upstairs with me for a minute. We need to talk.”

Maylee didn’t move right away. She looked at Mama’s face, and I watched the sleepiness disappear from hers as she finally realized this wasn’t a regular morning.

“Is Daddy okay?”

Mama squeezed her hand.

“He’s alive, baby.”

Maylee’s eyes widened, but Mama didn’t give her enough time to panic. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close before guiding her toward the stairs.

“Come on. I’m going to explain everything.”

Maylee went with her, but I could see the questions already forming on her face as they climbed the stairs together. Mama moved slowly beside her. She put one hand on the railing while Maylee stayed tucked underneath her other arm. I watched until they disappeared upstairs. When I finally looked away, Penelope was standing beside me. She didn’t say anything. She simply slid her hand into mine, and I held on.

ETERNITY

Maylee didn’t say anything as we walked down the hallway toward her bedroom, but I could feel the questions building inside of her. Her hand stayed wrapped tightly around mine, and every few steps, she looked up at me like she was trying to read my face before I had a chance to tell her whatever she already knew wasn’t going to be good. I wished I had chosen my words better downstairs. He’s alive, baby. The relief I’d meant to give her had only scared her because Maylee was old enough to understand that nobody reassured you someone was alive unless there had been a reason to question it in the first place.

Once we were inside her bedroom, I closed the door and walked over to the bed. I sat down carefully and pulled Maylee beside me. I turned so that I could see her face. She didn’t give me a chance to figure out where to start.

“Why did you say Daddy’s alive?”

I reached for both of her hands and held them in mine.

“Because something happened yesterday, and I need to tell you about it.”

Her eyes immediately filled with fear.

“What happened?”

“Your daddy was with Maliah yesterday when somebody shot at the car they were in.”