How they decided what she was without ever asking.
“I get it,” she said quietly. “People look at me and think they already know my whole story.”
Mike’s face softened.
“I had a little girl,” he said, and the words came out like they hurt. “Emily. Six years old. Lost her a few years back.”
The room went still.
Mike stared at his hands like he couldn’t stand to look up.
“After that… my wife left,” he said. “House got quiet. Too quiet. These men became my family because I didn’t have one left.”
Keisha’s chest tightened.
“My husband left eight months ago,” she said. “Said he needed to ‘find himself.’”
She let out a small laugh with no joy in it.
“Turns out he found himself living pretty fine somewhere else. Marcus and I… we were just left behind.”
Nobody judged her.
Nobody offered fake comfort.
