The principal called while I was rinsing out Letty’s cereal bowl and trying not to look at the empty hook where Jonathan’s keys still should have been.

The previous night had already been emotional. Piper found Letty standing barefoot in the bathroom with kitchen scissors in one hand and a bundle of freshly cut hair in the other. The girl had cut it because a classmate named Millie, who was in remission, was being teased after losing her hair during treatment.

Letty explained that donated hair could be used to make wigs. Her hair alone might not be enough, but she wanted to contribute whatever she could. Piper worried about the uneven haircut, but her feelings changed when she understood why her daughter had done it.