Elva wiped her nose with her sleeve. Her eyes fixed on me, she asked, “But what about Mommy?”

“Oh, sweetie,” Piper said. “We’ve talked about this.”

“You like her more than Mommy?”

“I’m sorry,” Piper said to me.

I shook my head. “No. I don’t like her more than your mom.”

I looked at Piper a