“Oh. Yes. That was me.”
She smiles. “That was really well done. My niece’s school raised more money in one night than they usually do in a semester.”
I return her smile.
“Thank you,” I say, and mean it.
She turns back to her target, satisfied, and just like that the moment is over.
Quinn nudges me. “See? You’re a person in the world.”
“Crazy,” I murmur.
Archery turns out to be harder than it looks. My first arrow goes wide. The second lands low. The third actually sticks in the outer ring and I grin like I’ve won an Olympic medal.
“That’s it,” the instructor says. “Don’t rush the release.”
I draw the bow again. Breathe. Let go.
The arrow flies clean.
I don’t hit the bullseye.
I don’t care.
Quinn claps anyway. “That one hadintent.”
We sit on a bench afterward, drinking water, watching other people take their turns. My arms are pleasantly sore. My mind is quiet.
I check my phone. There’s a message from Arthur.
Henry wants your opinion on the New Age of Legends expansion pack?
I smile at the screen.
We'll talk about it at home.
I type back.
Save me the good tea.
The reply comes quickly.
Always.
As we pack up, I sling the sparkly bag over my shoulder. It catches the light, ridiculous and unapologetic.
Quinn raises an eyebrow. “See? Still you.”
“Very much,” I say.
On the drive home, I think about how full the day feels—not loud, not dramatic. Just solid. Chosen.
I didn’t have to earn this version of myself.
I just had to stop leaving.
When I step back into the house later, it doesn’t feel like something I’m entering carefully. It feels like something I belong to.
And for the first time in a long time, I’m not wondering how to fit.
I already do.
