My 5-year-old niece was supposed to spend one easy afternoon at the pool with me and my daughter. Then she lifted her arms, whispered…

asleep against my shoulder after a day too heavy for a child, and I felt the answer rise before the question was even finished.

“Yes,” I said. “Of course.”

Chloe looked up then, not with relief exactly, but with the cautious hope of someone who had learned hope was dangerous.

I crossed to her bed.

“You’re coming with us tonight,” I said. “You and Lily continue reading …