“Where did you go, Stella?" she asked once. This was toward the end, or, rather, the beginning. She was waiting for Leon to come home from the store. He had promised her daffodils. Stella was sitting next to her, rubbing a powdery lotion into her hands. "Nowhere, Mama," she said. She wouldn't look at her. "I've been here the whole time." "You did," Adele said. "You went somewhere—" But she couldn't think of where. Stella climbed into bed with her, wrapping her arms around her. "No," she said. "I never left.”