“I cried.”

“I know. I am very sorry.”

Lily was silent. Then she asked, “You do it again?”

“No.” The answer came without qualification. “No, I will not.”

Lily did not hug her. She walked to the sandbox instead. My mother sat on the bench and watched from a respectful distance. That was how rebuilding started.

Not with a dramatic reunion. With ten quiet minutes in a public park.