After a while, I stopped trying to give Lisa explanations I didn’t actually have.
Then Brandon came along.
He was careful with her from the beginning.
He never walked into our lives acting as though he had been assigned the role of “new dad.”
He didn’t force affection.
He didn’t expect her to trust him immediately.
He simply showed up.
He helped her rebuild a Lego castle after she accidentally knocked it apart.
He remembered which cereal she liked.
When she was learning to roller-skate and was terrified to let go of the couch, Brandon sat on the floor beside her for almost an hour.
A year later, he taught her to ride a bicycle.
She made him promise that he wouldn’t let go.
Then she pedaled halfway down the street before realizing he already had.
“You said you weren’t going to let go!” she shouted.
