"Look!"
I smiled.
"Oh, sweetheart."
She stopped in front of me.
"Isn't it pretty?"
I knelt beside her.
"It's beautiful."
Lily held the fabric closer.
"Daddy said I could wear it."
I nodded.
"Then I hope you do."
Her smile widened.
Then Vanessa stepped forward.
"That's enough, Lily."
The little girl's expression changed.
I looked up.
Vanessa's eyes were fixed on the dress.
"Put it away."
Lily hesitated.
"But Daddy saidβ"
"I said put it away."
I slowly stood.
"Vanessa, she's only showing me her dress."
Vanessa smiled tightly.
"It's not appropriate for everyday wear."
I looked at the sparkling fabric.
"She isn't going outside to play in it."
Lily clutched the dress.
"Grandma likes it."
Vanessa's expression hardened.
For a second, the pleasant mask disappeared completely.
Then she reached forward and snatched the dress from Lily's hands.
My granddaughter flinched.
"Vanessa!"
The woman turned toward me.
"She needs to learn not to make a spectacle of herself."
Before I could answer, Vanessa threw the dress onto the wooden floor.
The pink skirt spread across the boards.
Lily stared down at it.
Her face crumpled.
"That was mine."
Vanessa folded her arms.
"It's a dress, Lily. Stop being dramatic."
Something inside me snapped.
I stepped between them.
"Enough."
Vanessa looked shocked.
"Excuse me?"
I kept my voice low and firm.
"You do not need to humiliate a child over a dress."
Lily began crying quietly.
I turned toward her.
"Sweetheart, come here."
She moved toward me.
I put one arm around her shoulders.
Vanessa's face flushed.
"Margaret, you are not going to come into my house and undermine me."
I looked directly at her.
"I'm not here to argue about your authority. I'm here because a little girl wanted to show her grandmother something beautiful."
Vanessa pointed toward the stairs.
"Lily, go to your room."
My granddaughter tightened her grip on my cardigan.
I felt her trembling.
I looked toward Vanessa.
"Daniel will be home shortly. He can help decide what happens next."
The woman's expression changed.
For the first time, I saw genuine alarm.
Then she said, "You have no idea what Daniel thinks about your interference."
A familiar line.
A familiar warning.
One more attempt to tell me what someone else supposedly believed.
I looked at her.
"Then I'll ask him directly."
The front door opened behind us.