Chapter 14
The trial took a year to begin.
In that year, our lives became both fuller and harder.
Elena moved into town.
Not with us.
Near us.
We built a careful bridge.
Poppy saw her every Saturday at first.
Then Tuesdays too.
Then whenever Poppy asked.
I cried the first time Poppy ran to Elena before me.
Then I cried harder when she ran back to show me what Elena had given her.
Love is not pie.
Giving some away did not leave me with less.
Claire became family faster.
Maybe because she knew what it meant to be erased.
She and Poppy shared the same dimple.
The same stubborn chin.
Poppy adored her.
Serena gave birth to a boy and named him Jonah.
Dr. Voss lost all parental claims before he could make one.
Serena moved in with her sister and started over.
She apologized to me three times.
I accepted the third because it did not ask for anything.
Grant remained complicated.
His affair had hurt me.
His lies had hurt me.
But his final files saved us.
At night, I watched his video sometimes.
Not to forgive him.
To understand.
One night, Poppy found me crying.
“Do you miss Daddy?”
“Yes.”
“Are you mad at Daddy?”
“Yes.”
She climbed into my lap.
“Both?”
“Both.”
She nodded.
“I feel both too.”
May you like
That was grief.
A child had named it better than any adult.
