Over time, abuse eats away at logic and love, and all that remains is an empty bitterness. I didn’t want that for Aria, but if I had learned anything, it was that one should never take away or take on the voice of others. It was Aria’s right to decide what she wanted to do, and for her it was easier to move on this way. Her experience was hers; mine was mine. I’d support whatever she decided, because she had earned that choice. My young daughter had more courage than I ever had, and I’d watched it blossom over the past two weeks along with the crab apple tree out front. In a single spring my daughter had grown up.

At my feet Lily’s cat Stormy wound around my legs, meowing for attention. Lily rarely cried, but parting with her beloved kitty had brought on the tears. I vowed to give him the love he deserved and told her to visit him anytime. By him I meant me. God, I would miss her.

“Want some coffee, honey?”

Aria had decided she was adult enough to start drinking coffee, and lately we’d bonded over the variety of creamer choices. Her favorite was peppermint mocha; mine was coconut cream.

“I’ll give you the rest of the creamer,” I said with a lilt of temptation as I shook the near-empty creamer bottle.

She held something out to me—a folded card. There it was, plain as the blue words against a white backdrop:

To the beautiful Aria Fischer,

Will you be my date to prom?

Yours truly, Ryan

“He’s asked you to his prom?” The question came out more as an excited yelp. Aria jumped back. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or cry. “What are you thinking?”

“I’d really like to go with him.” She searched my face for a reaction. “Are you angry?”

“Angry? Of course not, honey. If you care about him and he cares about you, why not go? Just no drinking this time.”

“Mom!” Aria chided. “I’m a little scared, to be honest. I’ll be the only sophomore there. What if he leaves me to hang out with his friends?”

I pulled her into my arms, hugging her tightly and planting kisses on her head. Any other parent might have told her what to do, but I learned that character was built one choice at a time.

“You can’t control other people’s actions, but you can control your reaction. Decide to have fun no matter what. And I do know one thing—only an idiot would leave a girl as beautiful as you alone at prom.”

Aria pulled away just enough to look up at me and smiled. “I never really thanked you, Mom.”

“For what?”

“For giving me my voice back.”