Grandpa slowly nodded.
“You were all trying to protect someone.”
I squeezed his hand.
“But nobody asked the person being protected what she wanted.”
He closed his eyes.
“I understand.”
And I believed he did.
Part 10 — The Story Ends Differently With Her
That evening, Julian returned Ivy at exactly six o’clock.
Not 5:55.
Not 6:05.
Six.
He carried her to my doorway.
“She ate around four-thirty. Diaper was changed twenty minutes ago. She slept almost the entire drive.”
“Thank you.”
He handed her to me.
Then he stepped backward.
He didn’t enter.
