Then something else surfaced in my mind. A question I hadn’t thought to ask.
Emma had stayed through two surgeries, weeks of rehab, sleepless nights, and missed classes. She had endured all of it without a single complaint.
So what had finally broken her?
I looked at my son.
“Why today?” I asked. “Why did she finally leave today?”
Daniel wiped his face with the back of his good hand. And the look he gave me was pure shame.
“Because of what I said to her this morning,” he whispered.
Part 4: Still Standing. Still Dancing.
Emma’s dance instructor had called her that week. There was a placement assessment coming up for student teachers, one of the most important evaluations of her final year. She had already missed too many rehearsals. If she skipped this too, she might not graduate on time.
She told Daniel she had to go.
