Every time she asked for Sarah’s lullaby.
Every time she stood quietly in front of Sarah’s pictures.
She hadn’t been rejecting Claire.
She had been trying to hold on to the mother she’d never known.
I closed my eyes.
The guilt came all at once.
Every question I’d rushed through.
Every story I’d cut short.
Every time I’d changed the subject because talking about Sarah hurt too much.
I thought I was protecting Ari from grief.
Instead, I’d taught her that Sarah could slowly disappear.
Claire stood quietly.
No one
