It was childish, yes, to look at your child and feel this way. But you also, to be a good mother, had to see your child analytically and fully. You could parent someone well only if you saw them as they were.

And there was a relief, too, that her former mother-in-law, a woman who was not afraid to tell Opal her approaches to parenting and religion risked making her granddaughter simple and closed-minded, had not been invited over to dinner. It was a courtesy Antony had not done for her in the past.

Without her asking, he had pulled out the hot sauce and put it next to her glass of water. He had put extra salad on her plate and filled up her water when he had gotten more for himself. This, too, was simple but effective. There were so many complaints she still had about Antony, and away from him it was easy to forget how courteous he could be. It was an indictment of the world, or at least the way that the average man Opal had met during her time in it behaved, that small things like remembering what she liked and making sure she felt taken care of during a meal still carried so much weight.

“What do you think?” Opal asked him.

He kept his face neutral. “I think.” He paused and took a sip of water, then began again. “I think, despite everything, we’re family. And our daughters want to be close and share experiences with one another. I see a lot of families now who don’t bother being family. And here they are. Trying. So, it feels wrong to me to say no.”

Antony took another long drink. “I want to be clear I don’t think it would be wrong for you to say no. We’ve been talking about these things for seventeen years now. We are very different parents. This is just a for-me statement.”

Beneath the table, Olivia took Ayanna’s hand for a second and squeezed it to let off some nervous energy.

“Okay,” Opal said.

“Okay?” Olivia said. “Okay!”

“Thanks, Mom,” Ayanna said. She got up and hugged her mother around the shoulders with a quick burst and then went and sat back down.

“Can I go in the door?” Olivia asked.

“Absolutely not,” her parents responded in unison.