Chapter 7
Linda’s own purple mug sat untouched on the counter, wrapped neatly in a thick folded towel.
Ellie’s cup had been smashed.
The juice Linda threw on my daughter had been warm enough that she had protected her own hand while handling it.
She had prepared for that.
Not after.
Before.
I stared at the mug, then at Linda.
My grip on her wrist tightened without me realizing it.
Ben looked between us. “Rachel, let go of her.”
I ignored him.
Linda tried to pull free. “You’re hurting me.”
I released her and snatched the towel off the mug.
Steam lifted faintly.
Not scalding. Not enough to leave visible burns.
Enough to frighten.
Enough to make a two-year-old scream.
Enough that Linda had thought to protect herself before she used it.
I held the towel up in front of her face.
“Funny,” I said, and my own voice sounded strange to me, almost calm, “you protected your own hand before you punished a two-year-old.”
Linda’s expression changed for the first time.
Not guilt.
Not shame.
Alarm.
Ben looked at the mug, then at his mother.
For one second, he seemed genuinely confused.
Which meant he hadn’t noticed the towel before either.
Ellie clung to the back of my legs, sobbing into my thigh.
Linda reached toward the towel as if taking it away would erase the fact that I’d seen it.
I jerked it back.
“No.”
Ben found his voice. “Mom wrapped the mug because of her arthritis.”
Linda grabbed onto that instantly. “Exactly.”
I held her eyes.
“Then why did you set it in reach of a toddler and keep Ellie’s cup in your other hand?”
No answer.
Ben stepped closer. “Rachel, you are turning this into something it wasn’t.”
I almost laughed.
Something it wasn’t?
I looked at my daughter’s wet hair, the smashed cup, the bunny under the table, Linda’s towel-wrapped mug, and then at my husband.
“No,” I said quietly. “I think I’m finally seeing what it is.”
Then I picked up Ellie, grabbed her bunny from under the table, and walked upstairs without waiting for permission from anyone in my own house.
May you like
Behind me, I heard Linda hiss, “She’s doing it again.”
And Ben answer, “I know.”
