Chapter 12 - THE LETTER FROM A FOUR-YEAR-OLD GIRL
Three months later, Evelyn received a letter.
The envelope was pink.
The handwriting was enormous.
Inside was a drawing.
Three children.
A man.
A woman.
A house.
And a sun with a smiling face.
Beneath the drawing, someone had helped Lily write:
Dear Evelyn,
We miss you.
Daddy makes pancakes wrong.
Noah says they look like rocks.
Oliver says he likes rocks.
I love you.
Love, Lily.
Evelyn laughed.
Then cried.
That weekend, she visited the estate.
The triplets ran toward her.
“Evelyn!”
Three voices.
Different.
Imperfect.
Beautiful.
She crouched and opened her arms.
They collided with her.
Adrien stood behind them.
Smiling.
Over lunch, Noah told her about preschool.
Oliver described a toy truck.
Lily showed her a painting.
The children still had difficult days.
But their world was growing.
Later, Adrien walked Evelyn to her car.
“How's school?”
She smiled.
“Hard.”
He nodded.
“Good hard?”
“The best kind.”
He looked at her.
“I'm proud of you.”
Her eyes softened.
“Thank you.”
He hesitated.
“Would you have dinner with me next Friday?”
Evelyn blinked.
“At the house?”
Adrien shook his head.
“Somewhere else.”
She studied him.
“Like a date?”
He smiled.
“Exactly like a date.”
Evelyn's heartbeat quickened.
May you like
Then she smiled.
“Yes.”
