My six-year-old nephew crawled seven blocks carrying his little sister—then doctors and police uncovered why my brother’s children had vanished from my life for three years
her, which is a different thing, and I understood the difference now.
In the months after the funeral, Reena had been available. She had accepted my groceries and my help with repairs and my offers to take the kids for an afternoon. Then gradually, the availability became conditional. Drew was sleeping. Lily was sick. They were having a rough week.
