Her face reddened.
“I thought if I sounded certain, it would be easier.”
Jonathan gave a small sigh.
“For whom?”
Denise looked at him.
Then at Ethan.
Then at me.
“For me.”
That answer changed the room.
Not completely.
Not magically.
But enough.
Sometimes the difference between an excuse and an explanation is whether the person offering it still expects to get what they want.
Denise no longer seemed to.
Ethan picked at the corner of the yellow blanket.
“I would visit.”
Denise stared at him.
“What?”
“I said I would visit.”
Hope lit her face so quickly that Ethan immediately held up a hand.
“A visit is not moving.”
“I understand.”
“And Mom comes the first time.”
“Of course.”
“And I’m not calling Jonathan Dad.”
Jonathan nearly choked on a laugh.
“I would be deeply concerned if you did.”
That finally made Ethan smile.
“And I want to meet Lily before anyone decides we are siblings in an emotional sense.”
