I could leave a question with her without pretending it had been answered, and without carrying it into the conversation Lily was trying to have about her school folder.

The folder she wanted had stars.

That was the question I could answer that afternoon.

Evelyn’s proposed further statement remained for submission and review through counsel.

The broader inquiry remained open.

I did not know every detail of the weeks before the freezer, and the court had not made a permanent decision about Lily’s placement.

I could live with those limits more easily when I stopped asking Lily to make them disappear.

She needed dinner, a folder with stars for school, and help finding her red bookmark.