My mom found a boyfriend

let him hurt you the way he hurt me.”

She stares at Aaron. “Is this true?”

He doesn’t answer.

She steps away from him, stunned. Her voice breaks. “How could you?”

He reaches for her hand, but she pulls away.

People begin to murmur. The room fractures. The spell is broken.

Later, in the quiet of the garden, she finds me. Her makeup is smudged, but her eyes continue reading …