“Mom, it’s not like that!” Roxie could feel tears at the edges of her eyes, but she blinked them away. She wasn’t going to cry here. Not in front of them. Not like she was a child again.
Behind her, Josiah’s chair scraped loudly against the floor as he pushed back. “Ma, stop!” His little voice was tight, almost panicked. “Stop shouting!” He covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut.
The whole table fell silent.
Guilt slammed into Roxie like a punch. She went to him immediately, crouching in front of him. “Josiah, baby, I’m sorry,” she whispered, touching his cheeks. “I’m so sorry. We’re not shouting, okay? It’s okay. We were only talking.”
He didn’t look convinced. His small hands still pressed over his ears.
Margaret huffed. “See? This is exactly what I mean. He needs stability. He
