After dinner, Barbara was finally no longer languishing in her room. Instead, she sat in the back yard. Her eyes were puffy, fixed on Melanie's dark bedroom window. She felt silly because she expected her mother to appear there.

"Auntie."

Barbara quickly wiped her face. As soon as she found Emily's round face, she forced a smile. "Hey, why are you here?"

With a sad face, Emily leaned her body against Barbara's legs. "Are you still sad? I thought you're not sad anymore."

Barbara pursed her lips. ...