“I’m right here.”

“Grandma went away.”

The words settled deep inside me. Not Grandma lost me. Grandma went away. To Lily, she hadn’t wandered away from an adult. The adult had abandoned her.

I stayed beside the open car door until her breathing slowed. Then my mother walked over with the shopping bags. “You’re encouraging this,” she said.

I stood. “Encouraging what?”

“Her fear. Children copy adults.”