On my seventieth birthday, my husband announced his departure. I never imagined anyone would applaud. Much less that it would be my own daughters.

Lena’s lips parted slightly.

“It’s… it’s us,” she murmured.

“Yes,” I said. “That was the day I became your legal guardian.”

Then I blurted out the sentence.

“Not the day you were born.”

Renée shook her head sharply, as if the movement could erase reality.

“No… that’s not true. Why did you say that here?”

I did not look away.

“Why did he say that here?” I replied. “On my birthday. In front of everyone.”

Albert gritted his teeth.

“Carol, don’t do that,” he warned me. “Don’t change…”