Yes to Willow’s rabbit hutch in the backyard. Yes to Rosalind staying longer, then staying over, then eventually staying. And slowly, the house stopped feeling like a place he and Eli survived in. It started feeling like a home again. For a while, that was enough. Then the cracks started.
Not big ones. Just small things that didn’t sit right. Sarah had always hummed while she cooked. Rosalind didn’t. Sarah used to reach for his hand absentmindedly. Rosalind never did unless she seemed to remember she was supposed to.