« Are you serious? »
Mom started crying happy tears, the kind she saved for weddings and graduations.
She kept saying, « Oh, sweetheart, oh, sweetheart, » as if the words had somehow gotten stuck.
I remember feeling so proud of my sister that I could barely finish my plate.
Ellie had always been the brave one. If she was doing this, she meant it.
Mom started crying.
***
A few months later, Ellie brought the little girl over to meet us.
Her name was Gabriella. She was five years old, thin as a whisper, and she clutched a stuffed rabbit against her chest as if it might float away.
Her cheeks had that hollow look I’d only ever seen in hospital brochures. And she looked tired.
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