“Lizie,” I said. I was having trouble putting the words together. “What’s this?”
She froze. Her fingers reached her hoodie’s hem.
Sam had entered from behind me. “Lizie. You didn’t warn me it would be that awful.
Dan showed up at the doorway and looked around the room before reading anything else.
I raised the envelope. “My dear. Are you and your father at risk of losing your house?
She gazed at the ground. When she did spoke, I had to bend forward since her voice was so soft.
“My father instructed me not to tell anyone. “It’s nobody’s business,” he remarked.
I answered, “That’s not quite true, Lizie.” I spoke in the same tone as I did on Sam’s darkest evenings, when she was little and terrified of things that I couldn’t see. “You are important to us. However, if we are unaware of what is going on, we are unable to assist.
She gave a headshake. She seemed to have realized that crying used energy she didn’t have, as evidenced by the fact that tears were rising but not dropping.
He claims that others will view us differently if they are aware. As if we were pleading.
Dan lowered himself to her level and knelt next to us.
Are you able to stay somewhere else? Family? A companion?
“We gave my aunt a try. She lives in a two-bedroom home with four children. There was not enough space.
Sam took a seat next to her. “You don’t need to conceal this from us. Together, we’ll find a solution.
I gave a nod. You’re not by yourself in this. No more.
For a long while, Lizie remained silent. Then she glanced at her phone’s broken screen.
“Should I give my dad a call? He will be angry if I say anything.
I said, “Let me speak with him.” “We just want to be of assistance.”
Paul attempted to smile despite having oil stains on his jeans and a tired expression on his face when he arrived at the door.
With the cautious dignity of a man who has continued to work despite everything around him falling, he shook Dan’s hand at the door.
“My name is Paul. I appreciate you feeding her. I apologize for the inconvenience.
“Helena,” I said. Paul, it hasn’t been a problem. However, Lizie is carrying items that a youngster shouldn’t.
He looked at the documents on the table. His jaw clenched.
“She shouldn’t have brought that here.”
Then his face did something I recognized: it crumpled the way faces crumple when something a person has been holding together breaks apart in front of the wrong people at the wrong moment—that is, any moment and any people.
“I believed I could make it right. All I needed was more time. If I put in more time at work—
Dan remarked, “Paul, she needs more than more hours.” Direct, but not harsh. She needs nourishment, rest, and the opportunity to simply be a child. She is currently preparing evacuation lists.
Paul combed through his hair with both hands. His legs seemed to demand it, so he took a seat at my kitchen table.
