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A foot gently tapped mine and I looked up to see Jade gazing at me.

“A break did you good.”

“It did,” I said. “Thank you.”

“You better thank me by letting me take this home.”

“I made extra just for you.”

“Good,” was all Jade managed to say before she continued to dig in. For a moment, the only sounds were clinks of silverware on dishes. Everyone was focused on eating, and I couldn’t think of a time where I had handled dinner and it was going well.

Hope made my mouth open.

“So, who all do I need to apologize to after today?” I asked.

“No apologies!” Agnes and Beatrice yelled at the same time.

“The only person who might want one is Dale. Everyone else found it hilarious.” Jade leveled me with a firm stare. “Don’t apologize, though. Dale deserved it.”

“What did he do?” I asked with a laugh.

“He’s getting ruder as he gets older,” she replied. “A few weeks ago, he implied my hair dye was making me dumb. I’ve had it out for him ever since.”

A familiar feeling of anger filled me. There were many times I wanted to jump in and protect Jade, but I quickly realized she didn’t need it.

She watched me closely and I had a feeling she knew what I was trying to hide from her.

“How many times has he apologized?”

A slow smile spread on her face. “About ten. I’ll probably let it go someday.”

“That’s my girl.”

Jade’s smile fell and I knew she was going to correct me. Thankfully, Beatrice saved me.

“You’re so cool,” she said. “I wanna be you when I grow up.”

“I am very cool,” Jade said, but her smile didn’t fully return. She was incredible, but I wondered if the years had worn her down like they did me. I wondered if me leaving had anything to do with it.

Guilt made my chest feel heavy. I wanted to tell her that I’d go back and change it all if I could.

But I knew what she would say.

It wouldn’t change a damn thing.

Instead of fighting me, Agnes and Beatrice seemed exhausted after spending the day with Jade. Bedtime was an easy affair, and that left me time to check my email once more.

Summer was coming to a close, and I had to start thinking about what I was going to do about sending Agnes and Beatrice to school. Alice had had a plan for this. They’d been difficult even for her, so she found a prestigious private school for them to go to. They specialized in rigid routines and pushed a curriculum that was far ahead of any public school, even at that young of an age.

It was a perfect plan, and it was something I’d wanted to follow ever since I got custody of them. Then my apartment went up in flames.

There was no way that I’d be back in San Francisco in time, which meant I needed to start thinking about what all the options were. I could have them start somewhere else, or I could ask the private school to let them join late.

I had an empty email open and tried to figure out what to say. I could either tell them that the girls wouldn’t be attending the private school or I could ask for a deferment.

I considered withdrawing them entirely, but then I remembered how excited Alice had been when she got word that they’d been accepted. I remembered emailing them myself when I took them in, ensuring that I would be following Alice’s wishes.

There was no way that I was going to go against what she wanted. Not after the way she’d done everything for her daughters. If there was a way to send them to this school, I was going to take it.