She hadn’t worn it in months. But she’d never let me give it away either. Once, when I suggested we donate some old clothes, she pulled the cardigan out of the bag so fast she almost tore it.
I reached for it now.
“Lily, espera. No esa. Eso es de papá”.
She pulled the bag away from me.
“She can have this, too.”
“Pero cariño...”
“Mom.” She looked at me. There was something in her face I didn’t understand. “It’s okay. I want her to have it. It goes with the dress.”
“Es de tu padre...”
“Yo sé lo que es”.
She said it sharply. Then she softened. “Please. I want to.”
I let it go. I told myself she was growing up. That maybe she was finally ready to let some of him go. I told myself that was a good thing.
I drove her to school. She held the bag in her lap the whole way like it was a sleeping baby. She was so excited to help Annie that she kept tapping her foot against the floor of the car.
