One of them read:
“You are stronger than your fear.”
Another said:
“Mommy will be proud of you.”
I couldn’t understand what I was seeing.
“What is all this?”
Daniel took a deep breath.
“We wanted to wait a few more days.”
“Wait for what? Why are you hiding everything from me?”
At that moment, Lily took my hand.
“Mommy, Daddy didn’t do anything bad.”
Then she looked at Daniel. He nodded encouragingly.
Lily stood in front of the mirror, picked up her stuffed rabbit from the floor, and began to sing.
I froze after the very first word.
Six months earlier, Lily had suffered a panic attack during a school performance. After that, she refused to sing or even recite a short poem in front of anyone. The mere thought of people watching her made her hands tremble.
But now my daughter was singing.
Her voice was faint at first, but it gradually became stronger and more confident. Daniel turned off the faucet. He had been using the sound of the running water to hide Lily’s singing so I wouldn’t discover their surprise.
When Lily finished, I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
