“No,” Ronnie said gently, rubbing Esme’s back. “No, he’s not.”

Lane sniffed. A wrinkle formed on his brow. Ronnie walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. There was no point in opening up a closed case, was there?

Was this the same as being a good parent? Overlooking certain things, highlighting others, picking and choosing your battles? Maybe it was. Maybe Ronnie would always question what she decided. Whether she went back to dancing or pursued something more legitimate, whether she let her daughter eat real sugar-laden ice cream and sent her to a preschool without expensive murals in the hallways, the choices she made when she was a teenager and beyond—it would never end.

But this choice, this choice she could make.

She dropped the silver key back into the drawer and shut it. “I never saw this,” she decided. “It was never here.”

Lane blinked at her in surprise. “Really?”

“Don’t look so shocked.”

Too many bad things had happened to her already. If karma was a real thing, then it stood to reason that this could be swept under the rug. Ronnie needed Lane. She wanted Lane, deserved him. And he was a good person—for her, for Esme, for the world. Besides, even if Piper remembered Lane being there, she’d already accused Graham. This, too, felt like a gift. Ronnie said a silent prayer to Piper, which felt ironic but also totally right. And then, turning, she smiled at her family and led them out into the sun-filled, messy living room, where they would continue their day.

Epilogue

The party took place in Andrea’s backyard. Before Andrea issued the invites, there had been some discussion among the three of them about who should come. They thought about all those pointed Facebook posts around the time Piper was attacked; how the mothers danced around confirming their identities, how they condemned them before really knowing the full story. But they decided to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. These were Raisin Beach parents, for better or for worse, and they were all in this together.

Ronnie and Lauren came early to help Andrea get ready. Andrea insisted that they didn’t have to—she’d hired someone to help clean, ironically a young woman Ronnie knew from Topless Maids. And she’d hired caterers, who brought in trays of finger food and kid snacks and fizzy beverages. But Lauren and Ronnie came anyway. They gathered around Andrea’s kitchen island to catch up.