Lily Carter. Ethan stood up immediately. That’s us. Lily looked at Clare before moving. Will you still be here? » she asked. Clare blinked a little caught off guard. « Uh, yeah, » she said softly. « I think so. » That was enough, then took Ethan’s hand and followed him down the hallway, but she looked back once. Clare was still watching her, and for a second, neither of them looked away. The examination room was small and too bright. Lily sat on the bed, swinging her legs slightly as the doctor checked her wrist.
« Looks like a mild sprain, » he said. « No fracture. We’ll wrap it. She’ll need to rest it for a few days. » Ethan let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. « Thank you. » Lily barely reacted. She wasn’t thinking about her wrist anymore. Ethan noticed. « You okay? » he asked her quietly. She nodded, but her eyes said otherwise. Clareire is sad, » she said simply. Ethan leaned back slightly, rubbing his face. « Yeah, she is. » Lily looked down at her bandaged wrist.
« Why do people get so sad? » Ethan paused. « That question again. The kind that didn’t have a clean answer. » « Because life doesn’t always go the way we want, » he said slowly. Lily thought about it. Then she asked, « Is that why mom left? » Ethan froze. That one hit harder than anything tonight. He looked at her carefully. She wasn’t upset. She wasn’t even emotional. She was just asking, trying to understand. Yeah. He said quietly. Something like that. That wasn’t the full truth, but it was enough for now.
Lily nodded, accepting it in the simple way children do. Then Clare didn’t do anything wrong either, she said. Ethan looked at her. Really looked at her and for a second he didn’t see a child. He saw someone trying to make sense of pain without blaming anyone and that shook him. Yeah, he said softly. She didn’t. Yeah. A few minutes later, they walked back into the waiting room. Clare was still there. same seat, same posture, but she looked up the second they walked in like she had been waiting.
Lily smiled immediately and walked toward her. « It’s not broken, » she announced. Clare’s face softened. « That’s good, » she said. « I told you you’d be okay. » Ethan stood a few steps behind, watching them again. « This time, he didn’t feel uneasy, just thoughtful. » Clare looked up at him. Good news? She asked. Yeah, he nodded. Just a sprain. Kids are stronger than they look, she said. Ethan gave a small, tired smile. Yeah, I’m starting to realize that. There was a pause.
