“Anna,” he said, and his voice had a cadence that made my name land like a greeting and an offering. “Finally. I’ve heard a lot about you.” His smile slid easy across his face. He crouched just long enough to meet Lily’s curious eye; she was there too, restless and a little theatrical, as if attending a play that could not possibly be about her.
The evening was a study in adult politeness. Conversation flowed—mundane talk about community meetings, the absurdity of council bureaucracy, the best place in town to get a takeout curry. Mark, who’d sat quietly and watched much of the exchange, loosened into a slow humor that made both Daniel and Mom laugh. In quiet moments, I felt the oddness curl like a small animal: here was the man who’d broken the life I had known and built me a new one, wa
