Then we put the originals in an archival envelope and stored it with important family documents.

It was not an attempt to erase what had happened.

It was simply a way to keep history from occupying the center of every room.

That night we ate takeout on the floor of my new living room.

The boys argued about whether my shelves were level.

The windows showed the lights of another family moving through an evening.

I felt peaceful in a way that had once seemed impossible.

<strong>PART 24</strong>