Children noticed details adults assumed invisible.
“What did Grandma say?”
“She said Mom put it away for me.”
Andrew’s throat tightened.
“And then showed you the video.”
Sophie nodded.
“What did the video say?”
“She said…”
The little girl started crying again.
Andrew moved closer.
She let him.
“She said if I’m scared I forget her, I can hold it.”
Andrew’s eyes filled.
Of course Hannah said that.
Then Sophie added:
“But she said I don't have to.”
He looked down.
“What?”
“She said necklace isn't her.”
Andrew stopped.
Sophie tried to remember exactly.
“Mom said if it gets lost, I didn't lose her.”
Andrew closed his eyes.
Hannah.
Always one step ahead of the disaster.
Even dead.
Sophie continued.
“She said people can fix chains.”
Andrew laughed through tears.
A strange sound.
Then his face changed.
Caroline.
Upstairs.
Taking the necklace because the chain was broken.
He had just repeated the exact thing Hannah warned Sophie against imagining.
He had made the physical object too important by panicking about losing it.
Maybe Caroline had too.
But he started it.
“Daddy?”
He opened his eyes.
“Yes?”
“Are you mad at Grandma?”
Andrew thought.
“Yes.”
Sophie looked afraid.
“That is not your problem.”
He said it immediately.
“I am not mad because she gave you the necklace.”
“I’m glad you have it.”
“I am mad because Grandma and I agreed to decide together when you watched those videos.”
“Why?”
The hardest question.
“Because they make me sad.”
Sophie frowned.
“So I can't because you sad?”
Andrew stopped breathing for a second.
Children were ruthless accidentally.
“No.”
He said it slowly.
“That was not fair.”
Sophie stared.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“From Mom?”
He closed his eyes again.
“No.”
“From grief.”
“What’s grief?”
Andrew smiled sadly.
“The feeling when you love someone who is gone.”
Sophie thought.
“Oh.”
She knew that.
No definition needed.
Andrew continued.
“I think I was protecting me too.”
She looked confused.
“That part is grown-up.”
“Okay.”
He smiled.
“Very.”
Sophie touched the locket with one finger.
“Can I have it?”
Andrew stared.
The clasp was still broken.
He could repair it tomorrow.
But the question was no longer about jewelry safety.
He picked it up.
Placed it in her palm.
“Yes.”
Sophie closed both hands around it.
“Do not put it around your neck until we fix the clasp.”
She frowned.
“That is a safety rule.”
He smiled.
“Fine.”
She held it against her chest.
Then asked:
“Is Caroline mad?”
Andrew looked toward the stairs.
“I think she is hurt.”
Sophie’s expression hardened again.
“She took it.”
“Yes.”
“She said I can't have because bad.”
“Yes.”
“That was wrong.”
“Yes.”
Sophie looked surprised.
Adults rarely agreed so quickly with accusations against other adults.
Andrew continued.
“She also thought she was protecting the necklace.”
“I don't care.”
“You don't have to care right now.”
Sophie stared.
He continued.
“But you do need to know Caroline did not know about the video.”
“She did not know Grandma told you your mom wanted you to have it.”
Sophie looked down.