She leaned her head against my shoulder.
“I wish he had been there for real.”
“So do I, sweetheart.”
We sat together for a long time.
Then she picked up her diploma and examined it.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think Felix would have been proud of me?”
I looked at the smiling face on the cardboard figure.
“He would have been unbearable.”
She lifted her head.
“What?”
“He would have spent the entire afternoon telling everyone that you only graduated because he helped you with your homework.”
Emma burst into laughter.
“He barely helped me! I helped him!”
“Tell that to Felix.”
“He would have said he was responsible for all my good grades.”
“And he’d have expected half your graduation gifts.”
She laughed again, and this time the sound filled the room.
It didn’t erase the sadness.
It didn’t bring my son home.
But it reminded me that grief did not have to occupy every corner of our lives.
