EPILOGUE: Four Of Us Beneath The Oak
"You’re a girl, Grace. And that’s a good thing."
I turned toward the window because my eyes had filled with tears.
My daughter had once believed being a girl made her responsible for my suffering.
Now she was welcoming her baby sister without a trace of shame.
Several years have passed since that morning at Parkland.
I completed my bookkeeping certification and eventually became the office manager at the dental practice. We moved into a small home with a front porch and a large oak tree in the backyard, and Rosa still comes over for Sunday dinner.
Lily loves science, Sophie fills our refrigerator with paintings, and Grace has become a determined little girl who thinks every stray animal needs a home.
Life isn’t perfect. There are bills, school meetings, difficult memories, and days when I still have to remind myself that I’m allowed to make decisions without asking permission.
But our lives no longer revolve around Richard’s anger.
Last Sunday, Grace came outside while I was sitting on the porch. She was carrying a drawing of our family beneath the oak tree.
There were four figures holding hands, three smaller ones beside a taller one. She had added a little dog because she insisted our family needed one.
"Mommy, did I draw everybody?"
I looked at the picture.
"You sure did, sweetheart."
She studied it again.
"We have a lot of girls in our family."
I smiled.
"We certainly do."
"Is that okay?"
I put my arm around her.
"Honey, it’s more than okay."
She grinned and hurried inside to show her sisters.
A moment later, I heard Lily laughing and Sophie arguing about where to hang the picture. Grace called for me to come help.
I got up and went inside.
Her drawing was already taped to the refrigerator, beside Lily’s science award and Sophie’s latest painting.
I straightened one corner of the paper, then stepped back to look at all four of us beneath that big oak tree.
And I left it there, where my daughters could see it every morning.
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction inspired by real-life themes. Names, characters, places and events are fictionalized, and any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental. Images are for illustration purposes only.
