“I’m glad you listened.”
I kissed the top of her head.
“So am I.”
For a while, we sat together watching the sunset through the living-room window.
Then Chloe reached for my hand.
“Grandma, when I grow up, I want to help kids who are scared.”
I smiled.
“What would you like to be?”
She thought for a moment.
“Maybe a doctor. Or a teacher. Or someone who makes sure nobody gets forgotten.”
I held her closer.
“You can become anything you want, sweetheart.”
She grinned.
“Even a superhero?”
“Especially a superhero.”
She laughed and ran toward the kitchen to find another cupcake.
I watched her go, feeling a gratitude so powerful that it almost hurt.
The Promise I Will Keep for the Rest of My Life
People sometimes ask how I knew something was wrong at Chloe’s funeral.
They want to hear that I had a mysterious feeling or that some extraordinary instinct guided me toward the coffin.
