Another Album
That night, I opened Lily’s album.
I’d spent months trying to keep her alive. Michael had helped her feel alive.
Both mattered.
The next morning, I called him.
“I want to volunteer. Take pictures for the club.”
“Emma, that would be wonderful.”
“I want Lily to remember more than hospital walls.”
Over the following months, I returned to photography. With guidance from Lily’s care team, I told her about Daniel.
“Mommy, Daddy was sick too?”
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“Then why didn’t he visit me?”
“He was very sick. And he made a mistake.”
“Didn’t he love me?”
I hugged her. “More than anything.”
I’d finally learned that protecting Lily didn’t mean hiding painful truths.
At the club’s summer celebration, Michael appeared in his Elsa dress.
“UNCLE MIKE! YOUR BRAID IS BACKWARD!” Lily shouted.
“That’s called fashion!”
Lily laughed and grabbed my hand. “Mommy, let’s take a picture! You too!”
For once, I handed my camera to someone else.
Lily stood between Michael and me, holding our hands.
“Everybody smile!”
The camera clicked.
That evening, Lily placed our new photograph beside Daniel’s in her album.
“Now Daddy’s here too,” she whispered.
I kissed her forehead.
“Mommy, we’re going to need more pages.”
“Then we’ll buy another album.”
I still wished Daniel had trusted me enough to let me love him through his illness. Maybe I’d never completely forgive him.
May you like
But I wouldn’t let his choices define our future.
I’d spent too long afraid of losing happy moments. Now I was ready to create them again.
