Whatever else they had lost, they had that.

A few weeks after that, I came into the kitchen on a Sunday morning and found two plastic cups on the counter.

The children had poured themselves apple juice, carried the cups out to the patio, and were sitting in the grass arguing happily about a comic book.

Neither of them had asked me to check the carton.

Neither had looked at the seal.

They had simply poured their drinks and forgotten to be afraid.