“Is Daddy coming over to the house tonight?” she asked.

“No,” I said, stopping on the third step to wrap her scarf around her neck.

“It’s just you and me.”

Sophie reached into her coat pocket, took out her toy phone, and turned it over in her small hands.

“Can I keep my purple phone in my room now?” she asked.

“You can keep it anywhere you want,” I said.

We got to my small car at the curb, and I unlocked the back door to let Sophie in.