“I remember.”

Then she put down her pencil.

“Dad, did you know Tyler had eczema when you invited him to dinner?”

“No. I didn’t know anything about that.”

“Then why were you so calm?”

Daniel pulled out a chair.

“Because I knew you were paying attention to how we handled the situation. I didn’t want you to believe that caring about someone meant shouting at them until they agreed with you.”

Emma thought for a moment.

“Did you want me to break up with Tyler?”

“I wanted you to understand that you had a choice.”

“Even if I still liked him?”

“Especially then.”

A few days later, Emma came downstairs wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

She’d worn similar shirts countless times before.

But this time, she wasn’t pulling at the fabric or examining her arms.

She picked up an apple from the kitchen counter and headed toward the door.