After lunch, Rachel took the children to the restroom one by one. While she was gone with Sophie, Lily leaned across the table.
“Are you coming to our birthday?” she asked.
“When is it?”
“August. Mommy makes pancakes shaped like hearts.”
Noah frowned. “Last time mine looked like a potato.”
“It was a heart potato,” Lily said.
I smiled, and the emotion nearly broke me. “I would like to come, if your mom says it’s okay.”
Lily nodded with the seriousness of someone granting provisional approval. “You can sit by me.”
Rachel returned and heard the end of it. Something passed across her face too quickly to name.
We left the café together. Outside, clouds had gathered over the city, softening the sunlight into silver.
Rachel agreed to come to my apartment only after I promised she could leave whenever she wanted and that we would not speak about anything difficult in front of the children.
