Her tears fell.
Andre continued.
“I need a doctor to make sure your body is okay.”
“That is all.”
Ava whispered:
“She gets dizzy.”
Andre turned.
“When?”
“Sometimes when she stands up.”
Nia looked embarrassed.
Andre’s fear deepened.
“How often?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you faint?”
Nia hesitated.
“Once.”
Andre closed his eyes.
“When?”
“Last week.”
“Where?”
“Bathroom.”
“Did Vanessa know?”
Nia nodded.
“What did she do?”
“Gave me orange juice.”
Then Nia added quietly:
“She said not to tell you because you’d cancel your trip.”
Andre looked away for a moment.
He needed one second before his children saw him cry.
He did not get it.
The tears came anyway.
Nia stared.
“Dad?”
Andre wiped his face.
“I’m sorry.”
She stepped closer.
“For what?”
“For not seeing.”
Nia shook her head.
“You weren’t here.”
Exactly.
Andre looked at her.
“That’s not an excuse.”
“You were working.”
“So?”
“For us.”
Andre stood.
“No job I have is more important than knowing whether my child ate dinner.”
Nia began crying harder.
Andre held her.
Over her shoulder he saw Caleb and Ava.
Both crying too.
He opened one arm.
They came.
For a long moment all four stood together.
Then Caleb whispered into Andre’s shirt:
“Mom said Nia was on a diet from a doctor.”
Andre looked down.
“What?”
“She told us not to give her food.”
Ava nodded.
“She said sharing could make Nia sick.”
Nia closed her eyes.
Andre asked:
“Did either of you ever share anyway?”
Caleb looked guilty.
“One time.”
“With what?”
“Peanut butter crackers.”
“What happened?”
Caleb’s lip trembled.
“Mom found the wrapper.”
Andre felt dread.
“What did she do?”
“She grounded me.”
“For sharing food?”
Caleb nodded.
“She said I could ruin Nia’s treatment.”
Andre hugged him tighter.
“You did nothing wrong.”
Caleb whispered:
“I thought maybe I did.”
“No.”
Andre looked at all three.
“None of you were supposed to solve this.”
“No spying.”
“No hiding food.”
“No protecting adults.”
“That was never your job.”
Ava looked toward the phone.
“Am I in trouble for pictures?”
Andre crouched.
“No.”
“But I want you to hear something.”
She nodded.
“I am proud that you tried to help your sister.”
“But you should never have needed to collect evidence in your own house.”
“That was an adult failure.”