always be there.”
Every eye in the ballroom turned toward me.
My father blinked.
My mother looked stunned.
Vanessa’s confident smile disappeared.
The governor wasn’t finished.
“One night my wife called me crying.”
His voice cracked slightly.
“She told me there was a little girl in the oncology ward who hadn’t smiled in weeks.”
The room was completely silent.
“Then a volunteer named Claire sat beside her every week and read fairy tales until she laughed again.”
I felt my face growing hot.
I hated being the center of attention.
