“Andre?”
Ava ran toward him.
Andre caught her automatically.
“Surprise.”
“You weren’t supposed to be home!”
“I noticed.”
Caleb hurried over.
Andre hugged him too.
Then his eyes returned to Nia.
She had not moved.
His eldest daughter stared at him with an expression he would later understand as fear rather than surprise.
Andre lowered Ava gently.
“What’s going on?”
Vanessa stood.
“What do you mean?”
Andre pointed toward Nia’s plate.
“Why is she eating that?”
Vanessa glanced over.
“She wanted something light.”
Andre looked at his daughter.
Nia lowered her eyes.
“Nia.”
She did not answer.
Andre walked toward her.
Up close he noticed something else.
The T-shirt she wore hung loosely around her shoulders.
He had bought that shirt in Chicago three months earlier.
It had fit then.
Now the sleeves looked too large.
Andre felt something cold move through his chest.
He looked at Vanessa.
“Why isn’t she sitting with everybody?”
Vanessa gave a frustrated little laugh.
“She wanted to stand there.”
Nia’s fingers tightened around the plate.
Andre turned back.
“Is that true?”
Vanessa answered first.
“Andre, she’s been difficult about dinner lately.”
He kept looking at Nia.
“Baby.”
Nia’s eyes rose toward him.
He saw tears already forming.
“Is that true?”
Her lips trembled.
“No, Dad.”
The room became perfectly still.
Vanessa’s expression hardened.
“Nia.”
Andre heard the warning inside the single word.
So did Nia.
She flinched.
That tiny movement changed everything.
Andre stepped between his daughter and Vanessa.
He pulled out the empty chair beside his own usual seat.
“Sit with me.”
Nia hesitated.
“Nia.”
His voice softened.
“Come sit.”
She walked slowly toward him.
Andre took the small plate from her.
It weighed almost nothing.
He placed it on the table beside Caleb’s full dinner.
The contrast looked obscene.
Andre stared.
“How much did you eat before this?”
Nia whispered, “Nothing.”
“Lunch?”
Her eyes moved toward Vanessa.
Andre saw it.
“Look at me.”
Nia did.
“What did you eat for lunch?”
“Nothing.”
Andre’s stomach twisted.
“Breakfast?”
“Toast.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“This is ridiculous.”
Andre turned.
“What is ridiculous?”
“She told me she wasn’t hungry.”
Nia immediately shook her head.
“I didn’t.”
Vanessa’s voice snapped.
“Yes, you did.”
Nia’s shoulders collapsed.
Andre felt rage rising, but he forced it down.
Not yet.
He needed information.
He looked toward Nia again.
“What were you given for dinner yesterday?”
Silence.
“Baby.”
“Rice.”
“And?”
“Bread.”