“Sweetheart?”
She covered her face.
Daniel quietly said,
“Lily, we have to tell her now.”
I felt sick.
“Tell me what?”
Lily slowly lowered her hands.
“I put them there.”
I stared at her.
“Where?”
She pointed to her mouth.
For a moment, I didn’t understand.
Then Daniel finally explained.
Three weeks earlier, Lily had
chipped one of her baby teeth at school.
She became embarrassed about the way it looked.
Whenever she became nervous, she started putting small things in her mouth.
A tiny piece of paper.
An eraser.
Plastic from a toy.
Anything she could hide.
Daniel discovered it one evening when he saw her chewing something that wasn’t food.
He panicked.
He took her to a doctor the next morning.
The doctor warned him that the habit could become dangerous if she accidentally swallowed or choked on something.
So every evening, Daniel started checking Lily’s mouth.
That was what the little metal object was.
A small dental mirror.
The box contained everything he had taken away from her.
I looked at him.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
Daniel lowered his head.
“Lily begged me not to.”
I turned to her.
“Why, sweetheart?”
Her lip trembled.
“I thought you’d be mad at
me.”
My heart broke.
I hugged her tighter.
“I would never be angry at you for being scared.”
Then I looked at Daniel.
“But you should have told me.”
“I know.”
“You sneaked into her room every night.”
“I know.”
“You told her to keep it from me.”
His eyes filled with regret.
“I know.”
“And when I came in, you wouldn’t even let me near her.”
He looked at the tiny object in his hand.
“There was still something in her mouth.”
I froze.
“What?”
He knelt beside Lily.
“Open your mouth for Mom.”
Lily hesitated.
Then slowly opened it.
I leaned closer.
And saw it.
A tiny pale piece lodged near the back of her mouth.
My hand flew to my face.
And I started crying all over again.
Not because Daniel had hurt her.
