They decorated her bedroom with pink curtains and soft blankets.
They bought coloring books, stuffed animals, and little baskets for her toys.
I helped Nora arrange everything.
She couldn’t stop smiling.
For the first time in years, the sadness that had followed her seemed to lift.
During Ellie’s first day at home, Nora called me six times.
“Claire, do five-year-olds still need naps?”
“Is it normal for her to ask the same question over and over?”
“How do I get paint out of a cotton dress?”
I laughed.
“You’re doing fine, Nora.”
She sounded so relieved.
But when I first met Ellie, something happened that I wasn’t prepared for.
She had thick dark curls.
Large brown eyes.
And a tiny dimple in her left cheek.
The exact same place where I had a dimple as a child.
Nora noticed the resemblance too.
“Look at her, Claire!” she said excitedly. “She almost looks like she belongs in our family.”
