It sounded simple.

For three years I had been afraid to disappoint Harper because she had already lost so much.

I bought cheap birthday candles and stretched leftovers into two dinners.

I smiled when my knees ached and pretended the roof would be repaired next month.

Keeping difficult truths away from her had begun to feel like another household chore, something I could accomplish by working harder.

But children live inside the truth whether adults describe it or not.