But standing at that window, watching Katherine watch us, something cold settled in my chest.
“Mommy, is that lady mad again?” my daughter asked, climbing out of the pool.
I had learned that keeping the peace cost less.
I turned quickly and grabbed a towel.
“Don’t you worry about her, baby. Just have fun.”
“She always looks mad,” she said, shivering.
“Some people carry a lot of frowns,” I told her, wrapping the towel around her shoulders. “That doesn’t have to be our problem.”
She giggled and ran back to her brothers.
“She always looks mad,”
But when I glanced up again, Katherine had not moved.
I told myself it was nothing.
Just Katherine being Katherine, obsessed with boundaries and order and the way things were supposed to be.
“Come on, kids, ten more minutes!” I called, pushing the unease away.
Their laughter answered me, bright and careless.
I did not yet understand that Katherine had already decided our peaceful summer days were about to end.
