Emily
The moment the call ended, I took a deep, steadying breath and pushed down the swirling what-ifs. This was for Lily, it was for a grandmother who deserved to know her only grandchild.
I knelt on the grass, bringing myself down to Lily's level. Her face was smudged with a bit of chocolate ice cream near the corner of her mouth, and her bright, curious eyes were fixed on a ladybug crawling up a blade of grass. She was the perfect, innocent center of this complicated universe.
"Hey, sweet pea," I murmured, my voice softer than I intended.
She looked up, "Can we go on the swings again, Emily? Higher this time?"
"We can," I promised, a smile tugging at my lips. "But first, I have a question. A really special one." I gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "How would you
