“Are you family?”
I looked at Susan.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I smiled.
“Yes, sweetheart. I
think I am.”
The little girl took my hand and led me toward the dining room.
“Good. Because we need someone to help with the place cards.”
I laughed.
And just like that, I found myself sitting at a table covered with colored pencils, paper turkeys, and children’s drawings.
Later, as everyone gathered for dinner, Emily’s son asked whether we
could take a family photograph.
Susan looked at me.
I knew what she was thinking.
I reached for her hand.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s not miss this one.”
That photograph now sits on my mantelpiece beside a picture of Robert.
In it, Susan is standing beside Emily.
Emily’s children are laughing.
And I’m standing at the edge of the group, holding a little girl’s hand.
