Kay rose on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Joel's cheek, then lowered her eyes with a shy smile.
Like the lady of the house, she ordered the servants to bring fresh dishes. Then she walked over to me, triumph glittering in her eyes.
"Why don't you go kneel outside? No point ruining everyone's evening."
Joel hurried to my side and whispered, "Why don't you step outside for now? Dinner won't take long. You can set off fireworks with Johnny soon."
My blood ran cold. I walked out in a daze.
Before Joel recovered his memories, he'd played the hero on the street, rescuing Kay from a group of thugs harassing her.
That same night, the thugs came for revenge. I fought them off with everything I had, screaming for Joel to run. They broke both my legs and threw me into the river.
Ever since, I couldn't stand the cold. Joel used to hold my feet against his chest every night, worried I'd never get warm.
Now I knelt on the frozen stone steps, my thin clothes doing nothing against the wind.
Through the glass, I could see Joel and Johnny laughing. Johnny acted like a little adult, plucking the wine glass from Kay's hand.
"Mommy has a baby in her tummy. No more drinking."