“She can decide what she wants to talk about,” Clara said.

She was not trying to erase the rescue.

She was keeping room for the rest of her child’s life.

Chloe had help processing what happened.

Some questions returned after long quiet periods.

Occasionally, a sound or a moment of waiting made her anxious in a way Clara could see.

There were also days when no one mentioned the emergency at all.

Clara treasured those days without assuming they meant the memory was gone.