“Grandma came to get us,” Tessa continued. “She took June to a salon. The stylist tried for a long time, but she finally said the only way to fix it was to cut most of her hair off.”
June was crying now.
So was I.
Tessa reached for June’s hand.
“June kept saying everyone was going to laugh when she came back to school.”
Her voice cracked.
“So I asked the stylist to cut mine too.”
My hand flew to my mouth.
Beside her, June shook her head and started crying harder.
Tessa gave a nervous little smile.
“I’ve had long hair almost my whole life. I really loved it.”
The auditorium was completely silent.
“But I love my friend more.”
That was when I broke.
Not quietly.
I pressed my fist against my lips because a sob had escaped before I could stop it.
Everything I had believed for the past twenty-four hours fell apart.
No one had forced my daughter to cut her hair.
She had given it up so a frightened twelve-year-old girl wouldn’t have to walk into school alone.
Tessa continued.
“Grandma told me it had to be my choice. She asked me three times if I was sure.”
A few people laughed through their tears.
“I was sure.”
Then Tessa looked out across the auditorium.
“I wanted to thank Grandma because she came when we called.”
Those words cut straight through me.
She came when we called.
Not Mom.
Grandma.
Nadine had been the one Tessa trusted to come.
Because Nadine always came.
I looked down at my hands.
Suddenly, I understood what Nadine had been trying to tell me.
After the performance, the principal asked Tessa and June to stay behind.
The note I had found hadn’t been written to Tessa.
