Because she works for the house, he wanted to say. Not for you.
But before he could, Annie asked, “When I had a fever, was she working for the house or for me?”
Daniel said nothing.
“When she sits with me at night when I’m scared, is she working for the house or for me?”
He looked at his daughter then, really looked at her.
She was not being difficult. She was trying to understand rules that did not make sense to her.
“I’m not changing my choice tomorrow,” Annie said softly. “I just want you to know now so you won’t be surprised.”
Daniel sat there long after she fell asleep.
In his world, decisions were supposed to be made with the head. Annie, somehow, had made one with the heart—and it was beginning to look wiser than anything he had planned.
The next morning, the five candidates returned.
