She settled herself on the sofa with Haley on her lap as Milo Bordain chose the ottoman. Anne gave her a point for that—sitting as close as possible instead of choosing a chair six feet away. Upchurch was busy checking the tables for dust and looking with envy at the quality of the furniture.

“Haley,” Bordain said, leaning forward with the gift. “I brought you something special for you to have here at Anne’s house.”

Haley took the present and tugged on the bow.

“We’ll keep that for you to wear in your hair,” Anne said, setting the ribbon aside.

Her bout of tears forgotten, Haley had moved on to the box, dispensing with the rainbow paper in short order.

“It’s a kitty!” she exclaimed, pulling the stuffed toy out of the tissue paper.

“I thought you were probably missing your kitties at your house,” Bordain said. “This is a kitty you can take anywhere.”

Anne felt her heart soften a little more toward Milo Bordain. She had actually put some thought into the gift and had clearly paid attention to Haley’s obsession with cats and kittens.

“What do you say, Haley?” Anne prompted.

“Thank you, Daddy Milo!”

“Auntie Milo,” Anne corrected her.

“It’s all right,” Bordain said. “Haley tells me I should be a boy because I have a boy’s name.”

Haley was through with the adults, off the couch and taking her new treasure to show her friend. “Wendy, look at my kitty! I got a kitty, but it’s not a real one. It just looks like one.”

“That’s cool, Haley!” Wendy said. “Let’s put her with your dolls. What are you going to name her?”

“Scaredy Cat.”

“Scaredy Cat?”

“She’s obsessed with the idea of the daddy,” Anne said.

“That’s Marissa’s fault,” Milo Bordain said with a hint of bitterness. “I told her time and again she should get married and give Haley a father, but she wouldn’t listen to me.”

“Did she bring boyfriends home?” Anne asked.

“Not in any way that was improper. Marissa was a very conscientious mother. But she had a lot of male friends. I always thought it was confusing for Haley. She calls every man in her life Daddy.”

“She has friends with conventional families, a mommy and a daddy,” Anne said. “It’s normal for her to want that too.”

“How is she coping?” Bordain asked. “I’ve been so worried about her.”

“It’s a roller coaster. Children Haley’s age think death is temporary, and they haven’t developed psychologically to a place where they have the tools to think through a grieving process like adults do—and it’s difficult for us. We can only imagine how confusing those feelings are to a child.