I set aside one photograph of Matthew for myself.

I wasn’t ready to destroy every memory of someone I had loved.

I could recognize his good qualities and the hurtful effect of his behavior without pretending our relationship had been entirely good or entirely bad.

That complexity belonged in my adult life, not in Mabel’s lap.

A week later, Elena invited us to a neighborhood potluck.

There were several families with children Mabel’s age.