PART 14: GRANDMA MARGARET COMES TO TEXAS

Margaret’s first visit to our home was deliberately ordinary.

No expensive presents, no press photographs, no military ceremony.

I asked her to come on a Sunday afternoon, to leave Daniel behind, and to let the children decide how long they wanted her to stay.

She arrived carrying ingredients for sandwiches, a bag of apples, and an envelope of photographs from William’s childhood.

“I nearly brought flowers,” she admitted at the door.