“The funniest person I ever knew, sweetheart.”
“How Mama talk, Daddy?”
My smile always faded slightly.
“Beautiful.”
“Can I hear Mama?”
Sometimes I played the lullaby.
Sometimes I couldn’t.
Whenever Sarah’s voice filled the room, it felt like losing her again.
I told myself Ari was too young to understand.
The truth was simpler.
I wasn’t ready.
By the time Ari turned two, she had become the kind of child who watched before joining in.
She wasn’t exactly shy.
She simply observed first.
Then smiled.
That year, I decided she deserved a special birthday gift.
I walked into a toy store with no idea what I was looking for.
The shelves were packed, and I didn’t know where to begin.
A cheerful voice interrupted me.
“Shopping for someone important?”
I turned.
Claire stood behind the counter in a blue apron with embroidered stars.
“My daughter.”
“How old?”
“Two.”
Claire looked toward Ari, who had both arms wrapped around my leg.
Instead of talking directly to her, Claire crouched behind the counter.
A floppy stuffed rabbit slowly appeared above the edge.
It looked left.
Then right.
Then whispered loudly enough for Ari to hear.
“I don’t think anybody can see me.”
The rabbit spun around and fell dramatically to the floor.
Ari giggled.
The rabbit stood again.
“I meant to do that.”
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