Emery is quiet and sullen when they pick me up later. It’s a huge contrast to her usual sunny and chatty disposition; she’s the happiest kid I’ve ever met. They rarely speak about her mom, though. All I know is that the mother-daughter relationship is nothing like what she has with Ronan, but I don’t know any details. Neither of them has volunteered any information, and since I’m only the fun neighbor, I haven’t felt it’s my place to ask. Maybe someday soon.
Ronan stops the car outside the neighborhood McDonald’s and lets it idle. A tall woman waits with a smile too bright to feel real. We’re close enough so I can see that Emery has her mother’s nose and light brown hair color, but all her other features are Ronan’s.
Ronan flings an arm around Emery’s slumping shoulders and pulls her clo
