There were science fairs and fevers I sat through. Broken hearts, I didn’t know how to fix, so I just made grilled cheese and let them cry on the couch.
Three separate phases, when all three of them hated me at once. June, at 13, slamming doors. Claire, at 15, refused to look at me for a month. And Ava, at 17, told me I didn’t understand anything.
I didn’t. But I stayed.
I just made grilled cheese.
***
I missed things, too.
A cousin’s wedding in Denver because Claire had the flu.
A fishing vacation I’d promised myself for 10 years.
The chance to have a family of my own.
And Diana, the woman I love.
Diana was patient for a long time. Longer than she should’ve been.
