She looked up.
“You never needed my permission to forgive your sister,” I told her. “And you never need to hide it from me when someone is hurting you because you think I’ll say I told you so.”
Laura started crying then, and I moved beside her.
“I’m sorry I hid it from you.”
I didn’t ask her to promise she would never see Vanessa again. That choice belonged to Laura.
My job was to make sure fear and debt weren’t making it for her.
A door creaked down the hall. Dori appeared with her colored pencils and the unfinished family tree.
She looked from the front door to me. “Grandma? What do I do with Aunt Vanessa?”
For thirteen years, I had answered that question for everyone.
That choice belonged to Laura.
I slid the pencils back toward her.
“It’s your family tree, sweetheart.”
Dori sat down and went back to drawing.
