Three years later.
Warm sunlight poured through the floor to ceiling windows, spilling across a living room covered in toys.
A little girl sat on the carpet, delicate as a porcelain doll. She hugged a stuffed teddy bear in her arms while humming completely off key.
"Mommy, Mommy, listen! I can sing now!" Carol Halls looked up at me with sparkling eyes, dark and shiny.
I crouched down and gently pinched her soft cheek with a smile.
"I hear you, baby. You're singing beautifully."
Carol proudly swayed her tiny head and continued humming happily.
Steward walked out of the kitchen carrying two glasses of freshly squeezed juice. He sat beside me and naturally wrapped an arm around my waist.
The moment Carol saw him, she tossed aside her teddy bear and crawled over immediately.
She squee
