What if something is happening that I should know about?
What if I’m missing something important?
I tried to ignore the little voice whispering in my ear, but it grew louder with each passing minute. And before I fully realized it, I was already walking down the hallway, telling myself I was just checking in. Nothing more.
Soft music was playing. The sunlight from her window spilled over the floor in a warm stripe.
And there they were.
The two of them sat cross-legged on the rug, surrounded by notebooks, highlighters, loose papers, and a half-finished worksheet filled with math problems. My daughter was explaining something, using her pencil to guide her boyfriend step-by-step through the equation. He was watching her intently, not distracted in the slightest.
The plate of cookies she had carried upstairs earlier was on her desk—untouched, forgotten in the middle of all the studying.
She glanced up, surprised to see me. “Mom? Did you want something?”
Caught completely off guard, I blurted the first thing that came to mind.
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