Invisible String

19

We locked it in.

---

The next day, we left early to avoid traffic and attention. Travis drove, Mira was in her carrier, and Lily had two pigtails and a granola bar smeared across her cheek. We looked like a regular family. Mostly. Travis parked around the back of the building just like the school had requested, and we slipped in the side door.

Miss Kendra greeted us with a warm smile but didn’t blink twice when she saw who we were.

She just knelt to Lily’s level. “Hi there. What’s your name?”

“Lily,” she said, slightly shy but curious. “I’m three. I like paint and blue and my baby sister cries a lot.”

Travis and I both chuckled. Mira stirred in the wrap but didn’t make a sound.

Miss Kendra stood up. “We don’t allow phones or photos during visits—your privacy is very important to us.”

I exhaled a breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

---

The tour was quick but thorough. Every door had keycode locks. The playroom was colorful but calm. They had a music corner, sensory bins, and even a little garden patio. Lily was absolutely enchanted by a mini pretend kitchen and had to be dragged away from fake muffins and plastic eggs.

“She’d do great here,” Miss Kendra said, smiling knowingly. “We have an opening in the September start group. We’d love to have her.”

I looked at Travis, who just nodded. We didn’t need to talk it out. We both knew.

“We’ll take it,” I said.

Lily grinned. “Can I come tomorrow?!”

“Not yet, baby,” I said with a laugh. “But soon.”

I signed the paperwork quietly in the office while Travis bounced Mira outside the room. It was official.

For the first time in a while, I felt something shift. A step forward. A sense of stability.

Maybe things were finally starting to settle.

---

We were curled up on the couch, all four of us. Mira was asleep in my arms after nursing, her little fists still balled up like she was mid-fight. Travis had Lily tucked under his arm, her head resting on his chest as her favorite episode of *Bluey* played in the background.

It felt like the right moment.

I looked over at Travis, and he gave me the smallest nod.

I rubbed my hand gently down Lily’s back and said softly, “Hey, sweetheart?”

“Yeah, Mama?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the screen.

“Well,” I said, trying to choose my words carefully, “remember that school we visited the other day? With the play kitchen and the music corner?”

She perked up, twisting a little to look at me. “Yeah! The muffins!”

I smiled. “Yep, the muffins. That’s called preschool. And guess what? You’re going to start going there soon.”

She blinked. “By myself?”

I nodded. “Yep. You’ll be there with a teacher and other kids your age. You’ll get to paint and sing and play outside. It’ll be really fun.”

Lily’s smile faded a little. “But… you and Daddy and Sissy won’t come?”

Travis pulled her closer, kissed her forehead. “We’ll drop you off every day, and we’ll come pick you up after. Always. But yeah, for a few hours, it’ll just be you and your class. Like a big girl.”