Mary had vague memories of the last week when she thought hard but for the most part it just felt like she'd been asleep for a week or something. So while she didn't miss Stevie the way he missed her-it felt like she'd seen him just yesterday-she did understand that. She'd been a year without him and the first few weeks had definitely been the hardest.
She'd taken a few minutes to doll herself up just a little, letting her hair down, putting on one of her favorite dresses and slicking a little bit of color on her lips. Then she'd said goodbye and good night to her dad, leaving a few brownies she'd made on the counter along with a little note thanking him for keeping her happy while she was little and telling him how much she loved him. She took the last three of the brownies with her across the hall, knocking lightly with a little grin. She knew she could just go in, but she wanted to play with him a little bit.