NO POKING DOORS.
I laughed and put it on the refrigerator.
After dinner, we sat together on the porch.
Fireflies flickered above the grass.
Paige watched the children playing.
Then she spoke.
“I used to think you had the perfect life.”
I looked at her.
“Did you?”
“Yeah. I thought you escaped our parents and never had to struggle again.”
I leaned back in my chair.
“Paige, I struggled plenty. The difference was that the life I built belonged to me.”
She nodded.
“I want that too.”
“You’re working toward it.”
“What if I make mistakes?”
“You will.”
She laughed.
“Thanks for the encouragement.”
I smiled.
“What matters is that you acknowledge them, repair what you can, and stop expecting other people to carry the consequences.”
Tyler looked up.
“Is that our new family rule?”
Paige glanced at me.
Then she smiled.
“Yes, sweetheart. I think it is.”
Later, my phone vibrated with a call from an unfamiliar number.
