The rest of the morning passed with that strange, fluttering energy inside my chest, the kind that comes when you know you are standing at a crossroads and all you have to do is take a single step to change everything. After breakfast, after all the nervous glances Elijah and I exchanged without meaning to, after Marga started singing in excitement while putting her tiny hair clips one by one, the air in the house felt different.

Lighter. Warmer. More honest.

I wiped the counter slower than ...