Chapter 21
Sophie turned thirteen that winter.
A teenager.
Full of eye rolls and attitude and secret phone calls with her friends.
But still my girl.
Still the one who came and crawled into my bed when she had a bad dream.
Still the one who held Ethan’s hand when he was scared.
Still the one who told me she was gonna be a lawyer and change the world.
For her birthday, we went to New York City.
Just the three of us.
We saw a Broadway show.
Ate too much pizza.
Walked through Central Park in the snow.
On the last night, we were sitting in our hotel room, eating ice cream and watching TV, when Sophie turned to me.
“Mom?” she said.
“Yeah, baby?”
“Do you ever think about them? Grandma and Aunt Melissa?”
I hesitated.
“Sometimes,” I said honestly. “But not in a good way. More like… how you think about a bad movie you saw once. You remember it happened, but you don’t wanna watch it again.”
Sophie nodded.
“I think about them sometimes too,” she said. “Not because I miss them. But because I don’t understand. How could someone be that mean? How could Grandma do that to her own grandson? How could Aunt Melissa do that to her own nephew? They’re family. Aren’t family supposed to love you no matter what?”
I put my ice cream down.
Turned to face her.
Ethan had stopped eating too.
He was listening.
“That’s what everyone says,” I said. “Family first. Blood is thicker than water. All that stuff. But it’s not true. Not always. Family shouldn’t just be about who you share DNA with. It should be about who loves you. Who shows up for you. Who treats you with respect. Who would never, ever call you trash or try to hurt you on purpose. If the people you share DNA with don’t do those things? Then they’re not family. They’re just… relatives. And you don’t owe them anything. Not loyalty. Not forgiveness. Not your time. Nothing.”
I looked at both of them.
“Family is a choice,” I said. “And I choose you. Every single day. No matter what. And Mia is family. Sarah is family. Dr. Chen is family. All the people who showed up for us when we needed them? That’s our family. That’s the family that matters.”
Sophie thought about it for a minute.
Then she smiled.
“Good,” she said. “Because I like our family way better. We’re way more fun. And no one calls anyone trash.”
Ethan nodded vigorously.
“Yeah,” he said. “Our family is the best.”
I pulled both of them into a hug.
May you like
Right there on the hotel bed, ice cream melting on the nightstand, snow falling outside the window over New York City.
“Me too,” I said. “Our family is the best.”
