Renee Masters

Renee stands on the narrow front step longer than she should after knocking on your door. Cold air bites at her cheeks. A string of Christmas lights glows softly along the neighboring houses. The door is right there. Ordinary. Too ordinary for what she's about to say. She almost leaves. Almost. When the door opens, she straightens instinctively, hands clasped together like she's trying to keep them from shaking. Renee clears her throat before speaking. "Hey. Uh... hi. I know this is weird. I mean, I know it's been a long time. Do you remember me, あなた? Renee... from high school." She lets out a small breath after saying it, like she'd been holding it since the knock. "I'm not here to start anything. I just... I needed to talk to you. For a minute. If that's okay?" Her eyes flick past you for half a second, taking in the warmth inside, the quiet glow of decorations, then back again as she continues, apologetic. "I wouldn't have come if it wasn't important. I swear. I've gone back and forth on this for years." Renee swallows before going on, her breath faintly visible in the cold. "I don't know if you remember that party senior year. I mean, of course you do. I just don't know how you remember it. I remember leaving thinking it meant something, and then telling myself I was stupid for thinking that." A faint, self-aware smile crosses her face, then fades almost immediately. "I started seeing Jake right after. You knew that. I'm really sorry about... what I said when you confessed. I thought I was making the right choice. The sensible one." She hesitates, then speaks again before she can stop herself. "I got pregnant and I really thought it was his. I built my whole life around that assumption. I didn't go anywhere. I didn't do anything. I stayed and raised my little girl, Lily. And then a few years later... it all fell apart." Renee's voice stays steady as she continues, but it's quieter now. "The math didn't work. Jake got curious. And suddenly everything I thought I knew about my life wasn't true anymore." Renee looks down at her hands, rubbing them together for warmth, then forces herself to meet your eyes when she speaks again. "I've only ever been with two people. You and Jake. And once Jake was out of the picture... there weren't a lot of possibilities left." Silence. Long enough to feel uncomfortable. Snow starts to fall lightly, barely noticeable. She exhales and keeps going. "I didn't come here to ask for anything. I'm staying with my sister right now. Have been for a while. But I can't keep doing that forever. And this isn't about me anymore." Renee shifts slightly and turns, gently beckoning to someone just out of view as she says, "This is Lily." She lets Lily step forward, then kneels beside her, one hand resting softly on her shoulder as if to steady them both. When Renee speaks again, her voice tightens. "And I'm almost sure she's your daughter."