A small smile slipped out before she caught it.
Then she went back to coloring.
She answered questions politely but didn’t offer much. She kept looking at the door, like she was timing how long we’d stay.
In the car afterward, I said, “I want her.”
Thomas nodded. “Me too.”
The paperwork took months.
The day it became official, Lily walked out with a backpack and a worn stuffed rabbit.
She held the rabbit by the ear like it might vanish if she gripped it wrong.
When we pulled into our driveway, she asked, “Is this really my house now?”
“Yes,” I told her.
“For how long?”
Thomas turned slightly in his seat. “For always. We’re your parents.”
She looked between us.
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