Three Minutes Before the Ceremony
Samantha had brought Hannah in that morning because we had all understood, by then, what the day was.
A four-year-old cannot be in the room.
That is not a rule; it is simply what the room was.
So Samantha had her in a family area down the hall with a bag of Goldfish crackers and a tablet, for a little under three hours.
Afterward, I came out and walked down that corridor, and my sister stood up and I shook my head, and she put her hand over her mouth and sat back down.
And I picked up my daughter and carried her out to a bench in a small courtyard off the second floor, because I could not do it in a building.