At the hospital entrance, I stopped beside a woman struggling to fold a stroller while her toddler held her coat.

I helped her wrestle it into the car trunk.

She thanked me and asked whether I had someone inside.

“Yes,” I said.

Then, after a pause, “I’m not sure yet what he is to me.”

She smiled without understanding, and I walked into the building.

I found a quiet bench near the cafeteria and looked again at the picture Brandon had given me.

Young Paige was standing beside Evelyn, wearing the same uncertain smile Harper made whenever adults tried to take a formal photograph.