“You don’t have to do anything.”

I left before she could ask me to forgive her.

Chapter 9 — What Lily Carried

Lily carried the mall much longer than anyone except me understood. For weeks she panicked whenever I disappeared from sight. At preschool she clung to my coat.

At the grocery store she refused to sit in the cart unless she could hold my sleeve. At night she repeatedly asked whether I would still be there when she woke up.

Her pediatrician referred us to a child therapist who worked through play instead of direct questioning. During the first session, Lily placed a little-girl doll inside a toy house and set the grandmother doll beside a plastic store.

“Who is this?” the therapist asked gently.