He ran one hand across the folded fabric.
“I need to remember that.”
Linda eventually donated the cot to a local emergency shelter.
But the lesson remained.
As for me, I no longer apologize for taking up space.
I no longer confuse silence with peace or endurance with love.
And every night, when I tuck Sophie safely into her crib, I think about the knock on my car window at two in the morning.
Linda did more than find me in that parking lot.
She reminded me that I was allowed to open the door.
She reminded me that I was allowed to leave.
Most importantly, she reminded me that love should never ask you to make yourself smaller so someone else can sleep comfortably.
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