"How did you know you loved Mom?"
Charlie had been sitting on the steps outside the house while she heard her mother yelling on the phone to her father, not uncommon to hear these days but it didn't make it easier.
Alice was walking down the driveway after getting groceries. She placed them down near the front door and sat herself down by the eight year old. Charlie hadn't been crying but she wished she had been. All these feelings she didn't understand were building up inside her chest. If she didn't speak about it at least, she felt like her body was going to explode.
"Honestly, I still don't know." Alice sighed, brushing her fingers through Charlie's hair. "I suppose you don't need to know when you love someone. You just do."
"I know Mom and Dad loved each other once and maybe they still do..." Charlie tucked her arms behind her knees. "I just don't understand why Mom is so angry all the time."
Alice and Lucille had agreed that they would talk to Charlie about Li when she was old enough and while Alice intended to keep that promise, she couldn't leave Charlie feeling like this.
"When I met your mother, she was about five months pregnant with you. She was so lost and so hurt and so very alone that I felt a part of me that I hadn't felt in years." Alice looked up towards the sky, the pink hues cascading along it. "I had loved before and my heart had been broken. I didn't intend to fall in love again but I did and I'm glad I did. You and your mother mean so very much to me and while I can't explain everything now, just know, Charlie, that I will always be here for you."
Charlie smiled despite the horrid feeling in her chest. She wrapped her arms around Alice and breathed in her calming scent, fresh cooking and spice.
"I love you, Charlie."
Charlie sunk further into her warm embrace. Alice pulled her arms around her too, holding her close.
"I love you too, Mama."
