“Pepper,” she said.

“He’s shorter than us.”

I laughed.

It surprised both of us.

That night, Hailey woke crying after a nightmare.

She said water was coming through her bedroom door.

I sat beside her, turned on a small lamp, and helped her notice the ordinary things around us: the quilt, Pepper on the rug, Rachel’s books on the shelf.

We did not pretend the memory wasn’t real.