Watching Maggie grow up was a privilege. Ellie knows this. Still, it hurt. Over the years, Ellie was constantly forced to watch pieces of her only child’s younger self die, like being a guest at a thousand funerals. The first time Maggie left the house without a kiss. The moment she released Ellie’s hand, desperate to walk ahead of her. The afternoon Maggie decided she no longer needed a push on the swing. The last time she played with her favorite tea set. Her first doll. The bicycle with the rainbow streamers. Not
