Chapter 40
Ethan
Lily had been drawing nonstop lately. A whole forest of stick-figure masterpieces ended up on the kitchen table every day.
Dragons, unicorns, pictures of the house, pictures of Grandma with her cast… and then she handed me one I wasn’t prepared for.
“Look, Uncle Ethan! It’s you and Claire!”
My stomach dropped.
The drawing was simple, two stick figures holding hands, both smiling, a heart floating lopsided above us like it had been added as a final thought. I felt my ears heat up.
I forced a smile. “It’s great, bug.”
But inside I was panicking.
I didn’t want Claire to see this. Not because it was embarrassing, though it absolutely was. But because I didn’t want to make things weird for her. She was finally talking to me without caution. I wasn’t screwing that up.
So when Lily got distracted, I slid the picture into the middle of a stack of her drawings.
Not throwing it away, I couldn’t do that.
Just… hiding it.
◆◆◆
In therapy, later that day, Nora asked, “Anything new at home?”
I debated saying nothing.
But for once, I was trying not to lie to myself.
“Lily made a drawing,” I mumbled. “Of… me and Claire. Holding hands.”
Nora didn’t laugh, like I half expected her to. Instead, she just smiled warm, knowing.
“And how did that make you feel?”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “Like I wanted to crawl under the floorboards.”
“Ethan,” she said gently, “children draw what makes them feel safe.”
I blinked at her. Safe?
She nodded. “Lily isn’t imagining romance. She’s imagining connection. She sees the two of you working together, helping her, creating stability. That’s why she drew it.”
That thought sat heavy.
Safe, steady.
Words I never expected to be associated with me.
I sat there, trying to absorb it. Trying not to let the hope in that I knew was dangerous.
Nora studied me for a moment, then added, “Whatever you’re doing at home… keep going.”
And for the first time in years, I didn’t immediately assume that was wrong.
◆◆◆
Ethan
By the time the week was ending, I had gotten used to the sound of Claire’s voice drifting through the house.
Not comfortable, I wouldn’t dare call it that but familiar in a way that warmed the air.
Every afternoon, Lily would find her after school and walk home with her, practically dragging her up the driveway. Claire never complained. She’d just shake her head, smile, and let Lily chatter her ears off.
Our lives had been moving in this quiet orbit around her, and I hadn’t realized how much I’d come to rely on it.
We made dinner together again, which was becoming its own ritual.
Dad watched TV with Mom, her cast propped on pillows, and Claire and I moved around each other in the kitchen with that same strange ease that had been growing between us.
We didn’t need to talk much. I’d pass her the salt without her asking.
She’d take the pan before it burned. We worked like people who knew each other’s rhythms.
I had been debating all day, all week really, whether to ask her to stay for dinner properly. Not because I thought it meant anything.
Just because it had been a long time since I enjoyed someone’s company. And the truth was, Lily adored her. Mom trusted her.
Dad kept smiling every time she walked in.
And I… I was losing ground I didn’t realize I still had.
When we finished making dinner, Lily climbed into Claire’s arms for one last hug, I found myself standing there, hands useless at my sides, heart beating too hard in my chest.
“Claire?” I said.
She lifted her head, still bent over Lily’s small shoulder. “Yeah?”
My mouth went dry. This was dangerous.
“Stay for dinner?” Then I rushed to add, “Only if you’re free.”
For a moment, something flickered across her face, surprise, maybe even warmth, but it softened into something gentler. Sadder.
She smiled, but not the bright smile she gave Lily.
This one was soft, regretful.
“I’d love to,” she said quietly. “Truly, but I have a date with Brandon.”
I nodded, forcing a smile that didn’t reach anywhere near my eyes.
“Of course. Yeah. No problem.”
But the moment she turned away, my jaw clenched with frustration. She had boyfriend now.
Someone else getting the time with her that used to be mine without question. It shouldn’t have mattered.
It wasn’t my place anymore.
But it felt like there was always a fire inside my chest that was just waiting to reignite at even the thought of him.
Lily waved goodbye, and Claire pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then she walked out the door with her usual calm.
I watched, until her taillights were barely visible.