Perhaps she would leave the past alone after all.

The speeches began.

Marcus thanked people who had helped them.

A friend told a story that made Chloe cover her face and laugh.

I had prepared a few sentences, then put the paper away because I knew them well enough to speak.

I talked about Chloe’s kindness, her stubbornness, and how she had become someone who could ask for what she wanted without apologizing for having a mind of her own.

I did not use the microphone to summarize Elena’s absence.