Lily held the teddy bear so tightly that one of its long ears disappeared beneath her arm. Around her, glasses clinked, chairs scraped softly across the floor, and adults moved through the reception room carrying plates and folded napkins. Everyone seemed to know what they were supposed to be doing. Lily was the only one who had forgotten.
She had been told three times that morning to smile for photographs.
“Not that kind of smile,” her mother had whispered before they entered the hall. “The real one.”
Lily had tried. She had even practiced in the mirror while her grandmother pinned the flower crown into her braided hair. But every time she looked at her reflection, she remembered the empty chair beside the kitchen window at home.
So now she smiled for the guests and hugged her teddy bear instead.
The bear was old, soft, and slightly lopsided. One button eye sat lower than the other. Its beige fur had faded where Lily had rubbed it for years. She called him Button, although the button on his chest had fallen off long ago.
Her mother, Claire, had wanted Lily to leave Button at home.
“You’re wearing your best dress,” Claire had said gently. “You don’t want him getting dirty.”
Lily had looked down at the yellow dress, the pink-and-orange skirt, and the tiny silver pieces sewn into the waist. Then she had looked at Button.
“He needs to come.”
Claire had sighed.
“All right. But you keep him close.”
Lily had promised.
She had not told her mother that Button was not there because she was afraid of losing him.
She had brought him because someone else had once told her never to let him out of her sight.
That person was Lily’s father.
And Lily had not seen him in nearly eight months.
The reception was for Lily’s aunt Sophie, who had married Daniel that afternoon beneath a white arch covered with flowers. The room smelled of roasted vegetables, warm bread, perfume, and the faint sweetness of the wedding cake waiting near the far wall.
Lily had liked the ceremony.
She had liked watching Sophie walk down the aisle.
She had liked the way Daniel’s hands shook when he tried to put the ring on her finger.
She had even liked the music.
But she had hated the moment afterward when everybody began talking about families.
“Your aunt looks beautiful,” one of the women told Lily.
Lily nodded.
“She does.”
“And look at you. What a little princess.”
Lily glanced down at Button.
“I’m not a princess.”
The woman laughed.
“No?”
“No. I’m carrying a bear.”
The woman smiled politely and walked away.
Lily watched her mother across the room. Claire was speaking with Sophie, but she kept touching the small silver bracelet around her wrist. Lily knew that gesture. Her mother did it whenever she was nervous.
Lily looked toward the entrance.
No one was there.
She looked again.
Still no one.
She hated herself for doing that.
Her father had promised he would come.
Not to the wedding.
That was what Lily kept telling herself.
He had never promised to come to the wedding.
But three nights earlier, while Claire was in the shower, Lily had found a note beneath her bedroom door.
I will be there. I need to see you.
There had been no signature.
There didn't need to be one.
Lily knew her father's handwriting.
She had folded the note and slipped it inside Button's back pocket.
Now her fingers found the paper through the bear's worn fabric.
She touched it once.
Then twice.
A voice behind her said, “Lily?”
She turned.
It was Uncle Daniel.
He crouched beside her, still wearing the dark suit from the ceremony. His smile was warm, but his eyes kept moving toward Claire.
“You all right?”
Lily nodded.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded again.
Daniel looked at Button.
“He looks like he's having a better day than I am.”
Lily almost smiled.
“He doesn't like crowds.”
“Neither do I.”
“You're married now.”
Daniel laughed softly.
“That's exactly why.”
Lily looked toward the doorway again.
Daniel noticed.
“Waiting for someone?”
She did not answer.
Before he could ask again, Claire called his name.
Daniel stood.
“I'll be back.”
Lily watched him walk away.
Then someone bumped into her shoulder.
Button slipped from her arms.
He hit the floor.
Lily gasped.
She dropped to her knees before anyone else could step on him.
“Sorry,” said a man's voice.
Lily froze.
She knew that voice.
It was not her father's.
But it sounded strangely familiar.
She looked up.
A tall man in a gray suit stood beside her. He had a small scar near his left eyebrow and a silver watch on his wrist. His expression changed when he saw Button.
For one second, he looked frightened.
Not surprised.
Frightened.
“You dropped this,” he said.
Lily took the bear.
The man stared at it.
“Where did you get that?”
Lily held Button against her chest.
“My dad gave him to me.”
The man's face tightened.
“What is your father's name?”
Lily did not answer.
He glanced toward Claire.
Then back at Lily.
“Is your mother Claire?”
Lily's stomach tightened.
She stood slowly.
“How do you know my mother?”
The man opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then Claire appeared.
She saw the man.
The color drained from her face.
“Lily,” she said sharply. “Come here.”
Lily obeyed.
Claire reached for her hand.
The man stepped back.
“I didn't know you would be here,” he said.
Claire's voice was barely audible.
“You need to leave.”
Lily looked from one adult to the other.
Her mother was angry.
The man looked guilty.
And suddenly Lily understood something she had never understood before.
This was not the first time they had seen each other.
“Mom?”
Claire squeezed her hand.
“Not now.”
“But—”
“Lily.”
There was something in her mother's voice that stopped the question.
The man walked away.
Lily watched him disappear behind a group of guests.
She looked down at Button.
Something hard was pressing against her palm.
She turned the bear over.
One of the seams along its back had opened slightly.
Lily frowned.
She had never noticed that before.
With her fingernail, she pulled the loose thread.
A tiny folded piece of paper slid out.
Her heart began beating faster.
She opened it.
There were only six words.
DON'T LET CLAIRE FIND THE RED KEY.
Lily read it twice.
Then she looked at her mother.
Claire was standing several feet away, speaking urgently to Sophie.
Lily slipped the note into her dress pocket.
For the first time that day, she stopped looking toward the entrance.
She began looking for a red key.
Click Here to continue read next: PART2: Lily Followed a Trail of Small Clues Through the Reception While Her Mother Quietly Tried to Make Sure She Found Nothing
The Wedding Was Supposed to Be a Happy Day Until Lily Heard a Name Nobody Wanted Spoken Again
Part 1 of 16
