I Hid Under My Daughter’s Bed and Learned the Truth No Parent Is Ready to Hear

“For… me?”

I smiled. “No, for the dog,” I said. “Yes, for you. Sit.”

She rolled her eyes but obeyed.

I watched her eat, watched the way her eyes slid past mine, the way her shoulders tensed when my neighbor’s car door slammed outside.

“You’re quiet,” I said.