He only smiled.
“Don’t tell anyone yet. Especially your mother.”
At that exact moment, Mom walked back into the room.
“What did he say to you?”
“Nothing.”
I don’t know why I lied. But on the drive home, I couldn’t keep it inside anymore.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Grandpa told me something.”
My mother was driving. Her expression immediately became serious.
“What did he say?”
I repeated Grandpa’s words.
For several seconds, Mom said absolutely nothing. Then she pulled the car over to the side of the road.
Her reaction frightened me more than Grandpa’s words had.
“He said exactly that?”
I nodded.
“And he told you not to tell me?”
Again, I nodded. Mom closed her eyes.
“Oh my God…”
“Mom, what’s happening?”
She turned toward me.
“You are not going anywhere tonight. You stay right beside me.”
When we got home, Mom called my aunt. From the hallway, I could only hear pieces of the conversation.
“…he said it to Lily…”
Silence.
“Yes. Tonight.”
Then, in a much quieter voice, she said:
“I knew this day was coming.”
After hearing those words, I couldn’t relax for the rest of the evening. At around eleven o’clock, the doorbell rang.
It was Grandpa. Mom opened the door but didn’t invite him inside.
“Dad, why are you here?”
“To get Lily.”
Mom’s face changed.
“No.”
Grandpa looked at her for a long moment.
“Sarah, you can’t protect her from everything forever.”
“She’s a child.”
“That’s exactly why I want her there tonight.”
I was standing near the stairs, listening to every word. Then Mom suddenly began to cry.
“But what if tomorrow…”
