We had chocolate chip and blueberry, and once she asked for peanut butter chips, which turned out better than expected. Friday nights were movie nights where she picked the film, and I supplied the popcorn and candy. She chose everything from old comedies I’d never heard of to horror movies that made me cover my eyes.
We talked more openly now about everything from the school drama to college plans to boys she thought were cute. She told me about her friends and their problems and asked for advice on things she never would have brought up when my husband lived here. Our relationship wasn’t magically perfect because we still had disagreements about curfew and homework and cleaning her room.
But there was trust again in a way there hadn’t been for 2 years. She knew I would always choose her over anyone else. She knew this was her home and nobody was going to push her out of it. We were learning to be a family of two again, and it felt right in a way that the family of three never had. The house was peaceful. Lily was happy.