Chapter 276
My mother brought the soup pot to the table. Steam rose between us, fragrant with ginger and scallions. She ladled soup into each bowl, moving around the table in the same order she had used for twenty-five years. Father first. Then Lilith. Then me. Herself last.
We ate in silence.
The clink of spoons. The soft hum of the refrigerator. The distant sound of a dog barking somewhere down the street.
My father cleared his throat. "The dress. Was it everything you hoped?"
I looked at him. His face was carefully neutral, but his eyes betrayed him. He had paid for the dress. He had driven me to the boutique. He had held the garment bag like it was made of glass.
"Yes," I said. "It was more."
"More how?" Lilith asked.
I set down my spoon.
