Lila said, “Yes, sir.”
He put a hand over his mouth. “My wife used to bake apple.”
A tiny woman near the window said, “I smelled cinnamon before I saw you.”
Lila set the first pie down and started cutting slices.
I watched her kneel, ask names, and listen.
“I haven’t had pie like this since my Martha died.”
The man in the navy cardigan took one bite and closed his eyes.
Then he reached for Lila’s hand.
“I haven’t had pie like this since my Martha died,” he said.
Lila squeezed his fingers. “Then I’m glad you had it today.”
He swallowed hard. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Lila.”
That almost broke me right there.
“I’m Arthur.”
“Nice to meet you, Arthur.”
He looked at her for a long moment and said, “You’re somebody’s answered prayer.”
That almost broke me right there.
Finally she said, “What?”
I said, “Nothing. I’m proud of you.”
At 5:12 the next morning, someone started pounding on my door.
Her face changed then. Softer. Serious.
That night, while we were cleaning the last pie pan, she came up behind me and hugged me around the waist.
“You never gave up on me,” she said quietly.
I turned around. “Never.”
At 5:12 the next morning, someone started pounding on my door.
Not knocking. Pounding.
Every muscle in my body locked.
I woke up panicked.
Lila sat upright on the couch where she’d fallen asleep during a movie. “Mom?”
My heart was slamming.
I peeked through the curtain.
Two police officers.
Armed.
Every muscle in my body locked.
I felt her press closer behind me.
Lila was behind me in seconds, gripping the back of my shirt.
“Mom,” she whispered, “what’s happening?”
I had no answer.
I opened the door three inches. “Yes?”
One officer, a woman maybe in her 40s, said, “Are you Rowan?”
My throat was dry. “Yes.”
“And your daughter Lila is here?”
My mind went everywhere bad at once.
I felt her press closer behind me.
“She’s here,” I said. “What is this about?”
The officer looked right at me and said, “Ma’am, we need to talk to you about what your daughter did yesterday.”
My whole body went cold.
I looked back at Lila. She looked terrified.