The day of accident, I had been driving down the same road. It came a few minutes after it happened and called 911.
Mark was dead by now.
But Josie was still alive.
Daniel stayed with her. She was holding Mr. Bunny.
And before he died, he put the rabbit in his hands.
“Make sure Mr. Bunny get home with my mom.”
He promised him he would.
But he couldn’t deliver it to my funeral. He told himself that he would wait until the pain was not so recent.
The years passed.
Then I went into his hospital room.
He recognized my name and eventually realized who I was. I knew about Josie. I knew about Mr. Bunny.
Still, he never told me.
Instead, he hid the rabbit and asked Lily to give it to me a year after his death.
“He’s home now.”
Daniel
She was furious.
He had known all along. I had seen myself mourn my daughter’s death as I hid the truth.
And now I was gone.
Part Six: The Worst Thought
I wondered if Daniel had chosen me because I was a grieving mother with an empty space in my heart.
Maybe he hadn’t really chosen me.
Maybe it had just been helpful.
Then Lily looked at me.
But he didn’t choose you.
What?
I did it.
She told me that, before Daniel proposed to me, she had already asked if I was what it felt like to have a mom.
He loved that I remembered the little things. That he knew how he liked to wear hair. Get him snacks. Let him keep me.
