The formal end of our marriage and the arrangements governing the girls were handled through the proper process.

Those records had their own purpose.

The box was not a substitute for them, and I did not intend it to decide property or support questions at a future wedding.

It held the efforts to keep a mother connected to her children.

The first thing I put inside was a photograph returned with an envelope.

I had sent it because Violet had lost a tooth and insisted the gap made her look like a pirate.

The three five-year-olds had arranged themselves on the sofa, and Stella had joined the picture after declaring she was too old for it.