The wedding had been important, but Mabel hadn’t been trying to destroy it.

She’d been asking a basic question in the only way she knew: was there still space for her?

I was beginning to understand that answering yes required more than a kiss on the forehead.

It required making choices that demonstrated she belonged, even when those choices cost me something.

At the counter I ordered her favorite cone, and the cashier glanced at my dress but said nothing.

Mabel held up Bunny for inspection.