white dog lying on a veterinarian’s table while a five-thousand-dollar ring glowed brightly on an X-ray.
I smiled.
“Actually, yes.”
Both girls gasped.
“I did see a Princess today.”
“A real princess?”
“A very expensive one.”
They started jumping up and down, demanding the entire story.
On the walk home, Emma held one of my hands.
Lucy held the other.
The glitter crown sat crookedly on my head while they talked nonstop about princesses, dogs, and dinner.
And for the first time in two days, I could breathe normally.
I wasn’t wondering how I would pay rent.
I wasn’t calculating how long I could keep the girls in daycare.
I wasn’t wondering whether we would lose the life I had worked so hard to rebuild.
We were going to be okay.
Steady.
After everything we had been through, steady still felt like the greatest luxury in the world.
