“By deliberately making her cry?”
“Enough,” I said.
“I’m thinking about everyone.”
“No. You’re deciding for everyone.”
“I’m thinking about Brenda too.”
“By deliberately making her cry?”
Diane’s face crumpled.
Then a voice came from the doorway.
“I needed you to see how difficult this could become.”
“You manufactured the difficulty.”
“Because you weren’t listening!”
Then a voice came from the doorway.
“But we wanted Brenda.”
Diane went silent.
We all turned.
Ben stood there in dinosaur pajamas.
Diane went silent.
Ben looked at her.
“You keep saying everything changed.”
Nobody answered.
He frowned.
“I was protecting you.”
“But we wanted her.”
Daniel walked to the door and opened it.
“Mom, you need to leave.”
She started crying.
“Daniel.”
“Leave.”
“I was protecting you.”
Afterward, I sat with Ben on the stairs.
“No. Ben was protecting Brenda from you.”
Diane left.
Afterward, I sat with Ben on the stairs.
