Invisible String

15

Travis had been running point with the girls for the past hour while I locked myself in the bedroom, bouncing between phone calls with our lawyer and quiet sobs I didn’t want anyone hearing—especially not Lily.

I was trying to keep my voice steady as I wrapped up the latest update. “So we’re flying out to California? With both girls?”

“Yes,” my lawyer confirmed, her tone firm but sympathetic. “Since Emma filed in-state, the court requires Mira to be present. Lily, no—unless Emma escalates. We’ll be requesting an emergency hearing to stop any movement on that, but... be prepared.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Emma said she couldn’t afford a plane ticket to come here. But now she has a lawyer and is trying to reverse an adoption she signed months ago? She doesn’t want Lily, only Mira? That’s not just cruel—it’s—” My throat closed for a second. “She wanted them together. That was her one ask.”

“I know. It’s inconsistent, and we’ll point that out to the court. I’ll send you the court date options by tonight.”

“Okay,” I whispered. “Thank you.”

The moment I hung up, I heard a loud clatter from the kitchen and Travis’s voice echo down the hall.

“Lily, no—no, no, no—babe! Taylor, if you're off the phone—I need backup!”

I opened the bedroom door and found chaos.

Travis was barefoot in the middle of the kitchen, holding Mira against his chest with one arm. Mira’s little fists were tangled in his hoodie string, and she was blowing spit bubbles with complete serenity.

At his feet: Lily, standing on a chair she had pushed up to the counter, a family-size box of Cheerios emptied all over the kitchen island and the floor. She was holding a wooden spoon like a baton and humming to herself.

Travis met my eyes, deadpan. “She said she was making dinner.”

“Did she feed Mira?”

He held up his hand. “Oh, just wait.”

That’s when I noticed Mira’s curls—sticky, shiny, with what I could only assume was milk and cereal residue.

“I walked away for thirty seconds to put wipes in the diaper caddy,” Travis continued. “Thirty seconds. She dumped an entire handful of cereal into her lap and said she was sharing.”

I bit my lip to stop from laughing. “Well. Mira’s first real taste of solids. It was bound to be... crunchy.”

“Please don’t tell the pediatrician.”

I walked over and gently took Mira from his arms. She was still relaxed, her eyes half-closed like she was immune to the madness of this family. I wiped at her cheek and held her close.

“She’s so calm for a baby who just got Cheerio’d,” I murmured, kissing her forehead.

“Yeah, her sister could take notes,” Travis said, scooping Lily off the chair and into his arms as she giggled. “Lilybug, you know better.”

“But Mira was hungry,” she pouted, her curls bouncing. “She told me.”

Travis chuckled, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Let’s stick to grown-ups doing the feeding, okay?”

I leaned my head against his shoulder for a second. “They set court dates.”

His face went serious in an instant.

“In California. Emma says she can’t afford to fly here, so we have to go.”

Travis looked down at both girls, now calm and secure in our arms. “She wants one, not both?”