She had done that since she was four.
"I used to love music."
Greta pushed the bread basket closer without looking up because she knew I would ask next.
The girls had learned my routines, and I had learned theirs.
Greta needed silence before school.
Amelia hummed when she was frightened.
Both hated canned peas.
Neither could sleep if the hallway light was completely off.
The girls had learned my routines.
Katherine sat among those small certainties like a guest trying to understand a language everyone else had learned without her.
She asked about friends.
Greta mentioned Maya and Sophie.
Katherine asked which one was the best friend.
Greta hesitated.
"Both, but for different things."
She asked about friends.
Katherine smiled too brightly.
"Of course."
Then she asked Amelia whether she still liked dolls.
Amelia glanced at her sister.
"I haven't played with dolls since I was seven."
Katherine lowered her spoon.
