***Lily’s POV**The baby started crying twenty minutes into the post-dinner devotion.Aunt Clara tried to keep going, but the sharp, insistent wail cut through every scripture reading. Rachel stood first, murmuring apologies, and carried him upstairs. Mom followed to help. The aunts soon drifted after them, voices soft and practical about warm bottles and clean cloths. Uncle Frank, Leo, and Martins stayed seated a moment longer than necessary, eyes moving between me and the cousins, before Aunt Clara’s sharp look finally sent them toward the living-room doorway as well.The circle broke.I slipped out the side hallway under the pretext of needing the restroom. The storage room sat at the end of that corridor—narrow, windowless, lined with shelves of ceremony supplies, extra chairs, boxes of programs, and the spare linens no one had finished sorting. I only meant to catch my breath, to let the weight of five pairs of eyes and three uncles’ silent claims settle before I had to put the
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