She just clung to me, beaming.
"Mommy, you're the best mommy in the whole world."
"But if we go out to play like this, will Daddy and Grandpa and Grandma be upset?"
I smiled.
"No, they won't."
They were about to have far bigger things on their minds than whether we'd gone to an amusement park. By the time they had a spare moment to think about it, they'd probably be nothing but a pile of ash.
As if on cue, a young couple standing in line beside us was huddled over a phone, whispering.
Oh my God, that's awful. A car crash out of nowhere!
At that speed, slamming into a wall? No way they made it.
The news said the person in the car has severe burns. Burns are the most painful thing imaginable.
I tilted my head for a glance and recognized it immediately.
That was my car. But I acted like I hadn't seen a thing, turned off my phone, and spent the rest of the day focused entirely on my daughter. Only when Lily was too tired to go on another ride did I finally pull my phone back out.
Over a dozen missed calls. Every single one from the hospital.
I dismissed them all, then calmly drove Lily to my parents' house.
But I didn't head to the hospital right away. There was a show I needed to watch first.