Can I come in?” “Can I stop you?” Caroline overheard the exchange from the doorway of her bedroom. She’d been on her way to apologize to Michelle yet again—how many of their conversations over the years had consisted of futile attempts to explain and atone?—when she heard the sound of footsteps in the hall and peeked out of her room to see Lili tapping gently on Michelle’s bedroom door. She watched Lili disappear inside Michelle’s room before tiptoeing down the hallway, then stood with her back pressed tightly against the wall, knowing she shouldn’t be eavesdropping but unable to tear herself away. “Are you okay?” she heard Lili ask. “Sure,” Michelle responded. “Why wouldn’t I be?” “You seemed really upset.” “I overreacted. Not that unusual. Sorry if it worried you.” “No, please. I’m the one who should be apologizing to you.” “What do you have to be sorry about?” “We should have waited till you got home to decorate the tree.” “That wasn’t your decision.”
