Chapter 23 - Lily Becomes Pregnant
Lily called me at twenty-eight.
“Mom.”
I knew voice.
“What?”
“I’m pregnant.”
Everything returned.
Joy first.
Then stairs.
I hated that trauma entered before congratulations.
I forced breath.
“Oh my God.”
She laughed.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“Your voice is weird.”
“I’m becoming grandmother.”
“Again, technically.”
Ethan had child first.
“Still.”
We celebrated quietly.
No trust changes.
No corporate countdown.
No first-grandchild governance.
Lily joked:
“Should I avoid stairs?”
My face changed.
She regretted immediately.
“Sorry.”
“No.”
I took breath.
“You get to joke.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You don’t have to protect me from memory.”
Growth.
Vanessa heard pregnancy news.
Sent congratulations.
No weirdness.
No history reenactment.
May you like
That was perhaps ultimate proof.
The next generation arrived without becoming structure.
