I wanted to say, Your father sold her.

The words were already forming inside me, but the child’s observations did not yet establish all of that.

He had recognized Rachel, the coat, the blanket, an envelope, and a sound.

He believed money had changed hands.

I needed help distinguishing what he saw from the meaning he had given it.

“What made you think the envelope had money?” I asked once, keeping the question plain.

“It was thick.