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“Kensi? Are you here?”
Her head popped out from within the pile.“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.” I waved. “What are you doing here?”
“You said I could come whenever I wanted.”
I stepped up to the pile and crouched down, drawing even with her face. “Yes, but I meant with your parents.”
She lowered her head. “Are you my parents now?”
Her eyes were red and so sad, my heart broke.
I sat down in front of the wall of bean bags and oversized pillows. “You overheard your mom talking to your aunt about you?”
She nodded.
I lifted a pillow and set it by the window. “Come out here and sit with me. I’m going to tell you a story.”
She curled back her lower lip. “Does it have a happy ending?”
“It does if you make it so.”
“Okay.” She climbed out, and I quickly texted Teresa that Kensi was safe. She replied that they were on their way to Manhattan General, where the paramedics had taken James. I patted the seat beside me, and Kensi plopped onto the cushion with a shy smile.
“Change can be scary, but it can also be exciting and fun.”
“I’m not scared.” She met my gaze.
“You’re not? Well, why did you run off?”
“Because I’m confused, and clouds help me think, just like they help you think. But they haven’t helped me today because it’s a cloudy day.”
“What are you confused about?”
She curled her lower lip inward, collecting her thoughts.
“Are you my mommy now?”
I wasn’t prepared for the question and moved closer to her side.
“Tiffany is your Mommy. She will always be your mommy, but I’d like to be your Mommy as well.”
“I get it. Jessi at school has two mommies. So you won’t take me away?”
“Of course not, but I would like to get to know you better. You were in my belly before you were born.”
“Then how is Mommy my mommy? Didn’t you want me?”
“Oh, honey. I wanted you very much, but there were some bad people in the room who took you away from me.”
I skipped the controlling grandparents part because there was no point in fuelling a dying fire. I preferred Kensi had a positive relationship with my parents.
“Did you cry?”
“I cried a lot, and I hid in a pile of fluffy pillows. But this story has a happy ending because I found my baby girl.”
“Me?” she whispered, and I gave her a gentle nod.
