Chapter 9 - Heather Rebuilt Time That Belonged Only to Brielle
The first change was simple.
Every Sunday afternoon, two hours belonged to Brielle.
Not “family time.”
Not errands with Toby tagging along.
Brielle chose.
Sometimes coffee and a bookstore.
Sometimes driving nowhere while music played.
Sometimes sitting in the car eating fries.
Heather almost ruined it the first week by checking her phone repeatedly.
Brielle noticed.
“You can go if you need to.”
Heather put the phone face down.
“No.”
“What if Toby needs you?”
“He’s with Grandma.”
“What if he cries?”
“Grandma can handle crying.”
Brielle looked suspicious.
Then:
“You’re not going to leave?”
“No.”
That question told Heather everything.
Brielle was not asking for extravagant attention.
She was asking whether time promised to her could survive Toby needing something elsewhere.
Week after week, Heather showed up.
Not perfectly.
Reliably.
May you like
That was more important.
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