“So I’m not doing cello now?” Savi’s disappointment is written all over her face.

Crystal attempts to backtrack. “I’m not sure. Maybe she had an emergency?” Crystal peeks in the front windows, but it’s dark. She dials again and looks at the driveway. She can’t check for a car, because Rebecca doesn’t have one. But it’s not like her to not get in touch if she had to cancel. Bec never cancels. “Want to drop your cello back home and we can go do something fun?”

“Shouldn’t we wait first in case she comes back?”

“Well…” She doesn’t want to give her false hope, but she also doesn’t want to keep bothering Rebecca.

“What about Pam?” Savi asks.

“It’s fine,” Crystal affirms. “Let’s just have some mother-daughter time.”

Pam had come over last night and they’d had a real heart-to-heart. She’d admitted to Crystal that Savi had been vying for attention, and promised that what happened with the haircut and the fire wouldn’t ever happen again. She continued to take the blame, but it was clear that Pam wasn’t responsible for all of it. Crystal agreed to keep Pam on a very strict probation period—partly to help her out until she could find someone else and partly to placate Savi so she didn’t do something else extreme.

Once she heard the news that Pam would stay on, Savi promised she would be on her very best behavior. While she couldn’t know all of the emotions Savi was juggling, she did know a skipped cello lesson on top of everything else wasn’t going to bode well for her spirits.

On the way home, Crystal spots flyers tucked under the flags of every mailbox. At theirs, she plucks one free. “Hey, Savi. Want to go to a parade today?” She presses it into her hand. “It’s downtown.”

Savi’s mouth loosens from its frown. “I guess,” she mumbles.

Crystal tosses Savi the house keys so she can put away the cello. She checks her phone again for missed calls or texts from Bec. She dials again and leaves one last concerned message. When Savi comes back, she pockets her phone. “Hungry?” she asks.

“Not really,” Savi says.

“Not even for ice cream?”

Savi’s head lifts. “But it’s not even lunch.”

“So?” Crystal says. “Let’s be crazy. One scoop or two?”

“Two!” Savi jumps up and down. “Can I get sprinkles?”

“Why not?” Crystal walks hand in hand with Savi toward downtown. She’s committing the ultimate parenting sin—trying to cheer her kid up with sugar and bribes—but it won’t kill her.