Sometimes, the people who are supposed to love us most turn out to be the cruelest. I never imagined anyone could be that cruel to a child. On the morning of the school pageant, my daughter’s dress was destroyed. What hurt most wasn’t the damage… it was knowing exactly who did it and why.
The kitchen timer buzzed as I pulled out the last batch of chocolate chip cookies, the sweet aroma filling our modest suburban home. Upstairs, giggles floated down the hallway where my daughters were sprawled on the carpet, planning their school pageant outfits.
Six years into my marriage with David and those sounds still made my heart swell. Watching our daughters, Sophie and Liza — technically, my daughter and his daughter from our previous marriages — become inseparable has been the greatest gift of this whole blended family thing.
“Mom! Can we have cookies now?” Sophie called from upstairs.
“Only if you’ve finished your homework!” I shouted back.
Thundering footsteps cascaded down the stairs as both girls, now 15, burst into the kitchen, laughing.
“Dad’s going to be late again, isn’t he?” Sophie asked, perching on a barstool.
I nodded, sliding glasses of milk their way. “Budget meeting. He said not to wait up.”
“Hey, did you guys see the flyer? For the Spring Pageant?” Liza asked, her eyes bright with excitement. “We should totally do it.”
Sophie hesitated. “I don’t know…”
“Come on! We could wear matching dresses and everything,” Liza insisted.
“And who’s going to make these matching dresses?” I raised an eyebrow, already knowing I’d be volunteering.
They both turned to me with identical pleading expressions.
“Please, Mom? You’re amazing with the sewing machine,” Sophie said.
“Please, Elina?” Liza echoed. She’d never called me “Mom,” but the way she said my name carried the same warmth.
How could I say no to those faces?
“Fine,” I laughed. “But you’re both helping with the design.”
Later that night, as David slipped into bed beside me, I whispered, “The girls want to enter the Spring Pageant. Together.”
He pulled me close. “That’s great. My mother called, by the way. She wants us all for Sunday dinner.”
My stomach knotted. “Wendy invited all of us?”
Even in the darkness, I felt his hesitation. “Well, she asked about Liza specifically, but—”
“It’s fine,” I cut him off. “We’ll all go. It’s been weeks since her last… comment.”
David sighed. “I’ve talked to her so many times, Elina. I don’t know what else to do.”
