Getting up, I take off the gloves and throw them away. Laiken is crying in Mali’s arms when I get over to them. Mali looks at me and I nod, silently telling her that it’s fine. She carefully turns Laiken and passes her to me. Her head rests against my chest, and I run my hand up and down her back. There’s nothing I can say. I can’t tell her that it’s all right because it’s not. There’s a dead body in my fucking bar right now. I can’t tell her she’s okay because she’s not okay. She’s facing even more trauma. The only thing I can do is hold her close.
