The twins, Eli and Nora, both four, shared a worn picture book but never turned a page without checking that the other agreed.

Two-year-old Sophie held a rabbit with one missing ear.

I hadn’t chosen their names.

I hadn’t taught Lucas to tie his shoes or watched Nora learn to count.

Three weeks earlier, they had been strangers in a photograph on the emergency placement registry.

Yet I knew now that Mia would only eat the crust of her toast if I called it the strong part, that Eli disliked the buzzing sound of bathroom fans, and that Sophie became inconsolable if she couldn’t see at least one sibling when she woke.

Lucas looked up.