“You’re not taking up too much space,” Teresa told her.

“You came because your child needs you.

You deserve an answer.”

When Teresa returned to Linden Street, Eli was waiting at the kitchen table with June.

He was nine now, taller, and very serious about a model bridge he’d built for school.

He had learned the names of the neighbors he could call in an emergency, but he also knew he could simply walk across the street to ask for help with a broken bicycle chain.

That ordinary confidence pleased Teresa more than any award.