It was across town.
That weekend, I loaded all four into the car.
“Can I take them to see it?” I asked.
“I think their parents would’ve wanted that.”
***
That weekend, I loaded all four into the car.
“We’re going somewhere important.”
“Is it the zoo?” Ruby asked.
“Is there ice cream?” Cole added.
“You remember it?”
“There might be ice cream after. If everyone behaves.”
We pulled up in front of a small beige bungalow with a maple tree in the yard.
The car went quiet.
“I know this house,” Tessa whispered.
“This was our house,” Owen said.
“You remember it?” I asked.
“The swing is still there!”
They all nodded.
I unlocked the door with the key Susan had given me. Inside, it was empty, but they moved like they knew it by heart. Ruby ran to the back door.
“The swing is still there!” she yelled.
Cole pointed at a section of the wall. “Mom marked our heights here. Look.”
You could see faint pencil lines under the paint.
“Why are we here?”
Tessa stood in a small bedroom. “My bed was there. I had purple curtains.”