Scott, who'd spent a month telling me it was "just teenager moods," who'd said "Derek's practically family" as a reason to stop asking questions — Scott put his face in his hands, because his instinct had been to dismiss, and mine had been to dread, and the truth had been sitting between us the whole time in a silent, terrified girl.
Here is the moment I'll keep.
Audrey, at the table, finally emptied of the secret, looked at the three adults who loved her and said the thing she'd been most afraid of.
"So I might not ever dance. Not really. Not like we planned."
And the kitchen went completely still — the four of us frozen around the table where she used to spin.
Then I did the only thing that mattered.
"Audrey," I said. "We never rearranged our lives for ballet. We rearranged them for you. The ballet was just where you happened to be shining. You could never, ever take anything away from us by having a heart that needs taking care of."
