Sloane sat a few feet away with a basket of sandwiches.

Eva took pictures of the children, careful to ask permission before sharing any with the adults.

At the end of the afternoon, we took one photograph of all four children together.

The adults stood outside the frame.

When I printed it later, I placed it beside the photograph of the three hospital bracelets.

I wasn’t trying to rewrite the years we had lost.

I was making room for the truth that the children were allowed to have relationships independent of the mistakes their parents had made.