At 12:03 on Thursday, my phone rang while I was answering emails at the kitchen table.
Lily was asleep under a blanket in the living room, the house was quiet, and for one stupid second I almost let the call go to voicemail because I thought it was spam.
Then I saw the school’s number and picked up.
The secretary sounded pleasant, almost casual.
“Hi, Mrs.
Carter.
Your mother-in-law picked Leo up a little after eleven because of a family emergency.
We just wanted to check that everything was okay.”
For a moment, I couldn’t make sense of the words.
Leo was in kindergarten.
Brenda had no reason to pick him up.
