"Very nice?" Mary asked, sounding a little strangled before she swallowed deeply and forced herself to remain calm. The pictures were NOT very nice. They were of a father and two sons, boys who were missing a mother. They were nostalgic, they were comedic, they were someone's life, not something to be dismissed so lightly. If she focused on that, she wouldn't have to focus on the fact that her boy sounded so different, that he didn't recognize his brother or father.
"Maybe if you look at the other ones, the new ones." Mary said, picking up one of the older ones to hold very carefully in her hand. The boys were very young in that one, little different from how she remembered them. That alone was calming. "You'll see how the boy in the photo grew up. You'll see that y--he is very loved, and very important. You'll see why we can't just give this up."