Chapter 16
Emma eventually left.
Not because something went wrong.
Because something went right.
She enrolled in nursing school.
Lucy cried.
I almost did too.
Almost.
Emma crouched in front of her.
“I’ll visit.”
Lucy grabbed her.
“No go.”
Emma looked at me.
I stayed out of it.
Not my goodbye.
“I have to.”
“Why?”
“So I can learn how to help people.”
Lucy thought about that.
“You help me.”
Emma smiled.
“You helped me too.”
That confused Lucy.
Good.
Children should not carry adult gratitude as obligation.
Emma left with a new apartment, tuition she insisted on repaying partly, and no Romano strings attached.
I argued about repayment.
She won.
Barely.
Lucy adjusted.
Slowly.
She still asked about Emma every morning for two weeks.
Then every few days.
Then only when something reminded her.
That was healthy.
Attachment without possession.
Something our entire family needed to learn.
May you like
I had spent my life believing loyalty meant staying.
Sometimes loyalty means making a place safe enough to leave without punishment.
