Eli laughed softly.
“That seems disrespectful.”
“Exactly.”
He kissed my temple.
In the living room, Lily and Daniel were arguing about whether sixteen was old enough to watch a horror movie rated R. Daniel was losing despite being the adult.
The house was warm.
The maple tree scratched softly against the window.
The panda mug sat drying near the sink, crack visible, still holding.
I thought back to that first night.
Ryan leaving with his suitcase.
The phone going to voicemail.
My body folding around pain.
Eli answering on the second ring.
The hospital lights.
The paternity test.
The paper in Ryan’s hand.
For a long time, I believed the story turned on that paper.
It did not.
The paper shattered Ryan’s ego, yes.
But it was not the thing that saved me.
What saved me was the call that someone answered.
The nurse who believed what she saw.
