By 5 p.m., we were tangled on the couch under a blanket that smelled like laundry and her shampoo. Snow started falling outside—small, unhurried. I remember thinking: This is the kind of day you don’t realize you’ll miss until it’s already a memory.
She was already barefoot, padding across the living room rug like she’d lived here forever. Her laugh came easy—low and warm—as she spun a slow circle, arms out, testing the silence. “All ours,” she whispered, and the words landed somewhere soft in my chest.
Lily Lou fell asleep with her head on my shoulder. The record had stopped. The tea went cold.
And for a few perfect hours, with the house to ourselves, nothing in the world was missing.