This box is your proof that you have a whole village behind you.
Don’t ever forget that.
And don’t let sadness stop you from enjoying your time with Sophie at the ocean. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring any of us, sweetheart, so make the most of today.
I pressed the letter to my chest and cried into Sophie’s hair.
“Mommy, why are you crying?”
We don’t know what tomorrow will bring any of us, sweetheart.
“Because I love your Grandpa so much, baby, and I miss him…”
I forced myself to take a breath.
Then I smiled at Sophie.
“But he said in this letter that he wants us to have fun at the beach, so that’s what we’re going to do, right?”
Sophie reached up to wipe my tears and nodded.
I forced myself to take a breath.
***
Three weeks later, Sophie was coloring in her hospital bed when her door swung open.
The oncologist leaned in.
“Ma’am, can I speak to you outside for a moment?”
My heart dropped.
I stepped out into the hallway.
“I have some news,” the oncologist said.
Her door swung open.
