Chapter 3

Dad had one arm wrapped around Martha's waist, and she nestled close to him, while his other hand gently played with a shiny new hairpin in her hair.

Both of them were smiling, whispering softly to each other, looking like the perfect couple, totally smitten with each other.

They didn't even notice when we opened the door, just heading straight for the main house.

Under the moonlight, Mom looked especially thin and fragile.

Her hand clung to the doorframe, knuckles pale from the strain, trembling just a little.

She just stood there, watching as the two of them disappeared into the main house, their cozy silhouettes fading from view, until not even the sound of their footsteps remained.

The yard was quiet once more, with nothing but moonlight spilling across the ground.

Mom slowly turned around, took my hand, and led me back inside, closing the door softly behind us.

She leaned against the door, sliding down to the floor, then wrapped her arms around me, holding me close.

Her whole body was trembling.

At first, she was silent, but then I felt her warm tears falling, one by one, onto my neck, so hot they stung.

She cried without making a sound, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

I reached out with the hand that wasn't hurt and gave her a clumsy pat on the back.

After a while, Mom finally started to calm down.

She used her sleeve to wipe her face, then looked down at me.

Moonlight filtered through the thin paper window, making her eyes shimmer with all kinds of emotions I couldn't read.

She asked me softly, her voice still hoarse from crying, "Lily... If I found you a new dad, someone who would treat you well and never let you feel wronged... would you be okay with that?"

I looked at her red, tear-streaked eyes, remembering how gentle Dad was with Tommy, how he held Martha close as they walked back inside.

I remembered the cold look he gave me, and how Mom worked herself to the bone every day, getting up before dawn and coming home late.

I nodded hard, not even hesitating. "Yes."

*****

Early the next morning, Samuel Hill, who ran the pharmacy in town, stopped by.

He knew I'd scraped my hand, so he went out of his way to bring some top-quality ointment and crouched down to carefully put it on for me.

His touch was gentle, and as he worked, he kept asking if it hurt.

I shook my head, noticing he had a constant smile on his face. He was clearly in a great mood.

Then Samuel headed out with Mom, saying they were just going to buy some stuff.

I was picking up firewood by the pile in the corner of the yard when Tommy wandered over behind me.

I heard him snickering, but I didn't pay much attention.

Suddenly, a hand groped my butt roughly.

I jumped back like I'd been burned, whipping around in shock and fury to see Tommy with that stupid, triumphant grin on his face.

"What the hell were you doing?" I shouted, shaking with rage.

"What's the big deal? It was just a touch," he said, grinning like he thought it was funny.

I promised Mom I wouldn't make a scene. But she'd always told me that nobody should ever touch me like that.

If someone did, that was just acting like a creep, and I had to make sure they paid for it.

With that thought, I spun around and dashed straight into the main house, where Martha was sitting, making shoe soles by hand.

I was so mad that I was stumbling over my words. "Aunt Martha! Tommy... he groped me!"

Martha didn't even look up. She just rubbed the needle against her hair and said lazily, "Lily, you're the big sister. Tommy's just fooling around with you. Don't make such a fuss."

"That's not just playing around!" Tears welled up in my eyes as I said, "He... he groped my butt! That's just being a creep!"

Martha slammed the shoe sole down on the bed with a loud smack. "What nonsense! Already talking like that at your age?

"Sounds to me like you're the one with your head full of bad ideas, trying to get my son to notice you!"

Her words dumped over me like a bucket of dirty water, soaking me from head to toe.

I stood there, numb, chilled to the bone.

"What's going on?" Dad's voice came from the doorway. He must've heard all the commotion.

Martha instantly got fired up, pointing at me and shouting at Dad, "Andrew! Listen to what your good niece is saying! She's accusing Tommy of grabbing her butt!

"Making up crap like this at her age. What kind of messed-up thoughts she must have!"

Dad's face went cold as he glared at me, pure annoyance and blame in his eyes. "Lily, why are you always causing trouble? Apologize to Martha and Tommy, right now!"

Apologize? I glared at Dad, feeling rage and injustice boiling over inside me, ready to blow.

I knew who he really was.