“Everyone else always leaves,” he said to his father.
“But you stayed.
She had asked her father if I could stay forever.
And he told him he wanted me to stay, too.
Something inside me finally relaxed.
Lily had chosen me before Daniel did.
And I had chosen her without knowing anything about the rabbit, the accident or the secret.
Part Seven: Home
I did not forgive Daniel that day.
He had hidden the truth for years and there were questions that he would never have the opportunity to ask him.
But I understood something important.
Lily had not been delivered to me to fill a void.
She had chosen me.
And I chose her.
We sat together on the kitchen floor with Mr. Bunny between the two. I finally told Lily my daughter’s name.
-Josie.
She repeated it quietly.
Later, I told him everything I could remember about Josie: how he sang fatal in the car, how he hated vegetables, how much he loved Mr. Bunny and how she once wanted to be an astronaut, veterinarian and ice cream vendor who was fighting crime.
Lily listened as she gently stroked Mr.’s worn belly. Bunny.
That night, he asked if he could sleep with him.
“Just for tonight,” he promised.
I accommodated him under his arm.
Then I stood at the door watching my daughter sleep with my daughter’s rabbit.
It took years, a stranger, a secret, a hospital room, a wedding, a funeral and a brave girl who kept a promise that was not even hers.
But finally, Mr. Bunny had come home.
With me.
Just like Josie wanted.
