Chapter 8 - A Different House
Emma was discharged with instructions I read three times. Tess drove because my hands still shook every time I passed a traffic light. Emma sat in the backseat wearing a loose cotton shirt, clutching her brave sock like a stuffed animal.
"Are we going to Nana's?" she asked.
"No," I said. "We're going to Aunt Tess's."
"Does she have a kitchen?"
"A little one."
"Does she have that black pan?"
"No, sweetheart."
She nodded and stared out the window.
Tess had put clean sheets on a bed near mine. She had hidden nothing and made no grand promises. She just asked Emma which cup she wanted for water, green or purple.
"Purple," Emma whispered.
That night I received a call from Miles. He said child services had interviewed him about Lily's living arrangements and he was keeping her with him while the adults worked through a safety plan.
"Vanessa keeps calling," he said. "Lily gets scared when the phone rings."
"I'm sorry she's caught in this."
"Don't apologize for what Vanessa did. Lily loves Emma. She keeps asking if her cousin can still come to her birthday."
I looked toward the bedroom. "Tell her Emma loves her too. We just need time."
After I hung up, Tess showed me a photo Emma had drawn on the kitchen notepad. Two stick figures stood next to a table. One had long hair, the other a round pink face. Above them she'd written an E with a crooked third line.
"That's you and her," Tess said.
"I know."
"Look at what she put between you."
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It was a door with a giant lock.
When I asked Emma what it meant, she said quietly, "So Aunt Vanessa can't come in when you're asleep."
