“Chris? Parking was terrible.”
Then she saw Steven.
Her entire face changed.
“Dad?”
Steven smiled.
“Hello, Victoria.”
She rushed over and hugged him.
“What are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d surprise you.”
“Well, you succeeded.”
Then she noticed Christopher.
And me.
And Mary.
The smile disappeared.
“What happened?”
Christopher immediately moved toward her.
“It’s been a difficult afternoon.”
I watched him.
That sentence told me exactly how he intended to retell what had happened.
Vague.
Harmless.
Nobody’s fault.
Victoria looked from him to her father.
“Dad?”
Steven nodded toward me.
“You should hear it from Carol.”
Victoria finally noticed Benny in my lap.
Her face softened.
“Oh, poor sweetheart.”
“He’s blind,” I said. “His name is Benny.”
She held out her hand, then stopped.
“May I?”
“Let him smell you first.”
She offered her fingers.
Benny sniffed them.
Then, apparently satisfied, rested his chin against her palm.
