For the first time, I wondered whether my fall had presented Preston’s family with an opportunity they’d been anticipating.

## Part Three: The Blue Book

That evening, a nurse arranged a brief visit with Lily. She arrived wearing her favorite lavender sweater and holding a folded drawing.

She cautiously approached my bed, clearly following instructions to be gentle. Seeing the worry on her little face nearly shattered the composure I’d regained.

“Grandpa says you’re getting better,” she told me.

“I am, honey. I just need some time.”

She climbed onto the nearby chair and unfolded her drawing: a little house surrounded by flowers, featuring bright blue windows and a yellow front door.

“That’s where we’re going to live,” she announced.

I smiled, though I had no idea where we’d be living a month later.

“Why did you make the windows blue?”

She considered it carefully.