Linda returned the money later but declared she and Hailey were leaving. To her shock, Hailey chose to stay\u2014with me. Furious, Linda hurled insults and stormed out.<\/p>\n
That evening, Alex showed up holding a bracelet with tiny star charms.\u00a0\u201cI know you\u2019re anti-flowers because your cat will eat them,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n
I smiled. \u201cSparkle.\u201d<\/p>\nFor illustrative purposes only<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Prom was sticky floors, loud music, and watered-down lemonade. But it was also laughter, dancing, forgiveness, and joy.<\/p>\n
At 10 p.m., Hailey arrived in her lilac dress, no longer floating, just grounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look beautiful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do you,\u201d I answered. \u201cThanks for coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled.\u00a0\u201cThanks for not shutting the door.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
We snapped a photo and captioned it:\u00a0\u201cStepsisters, not stepmonsters.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
At midnight, I found a sticky note on my mirror. Carla\u2019s handwriting:\u00a0\u201cYour mom would have been proud. \u2014C.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0A star sticker beneath it.<\/p>\n
The next morning, Dad sat me down. He\u2019d opened a separate account. Linda was at her sister\u2019s. He paid Mrs. Alvarez and Patty\u2019s himself. Then he handed me an envelope with $312.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need it now,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou needed it when you needed it,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he replied.<\/p>\n
By June, Linda had moved out. Dad filed for separation in August. It wasn\u2019t dramatic\u2014it was clean, like opening a window in a stale room.<\/p>\n
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