After Michael left the hospital room, my mother asked me to open her small handbag.
Inside was an old photograph.
It showed Emily on her twentieth birthday.
She was smiling with her arms wrapped around our mother.
On the back of the photograph, in Emily’s handwriting, were these words:
“Mom, if I ever have a baby, I want you to name her Lily. Because you always say that lilies bloom again, even after the coldest winter.”
I stared at those words for a long time.
“Mom, you’ve kept this note all these years?”
“Every single day in my purse, Sarah. Every single day.”
I looked at the newborn.
“So her name is Lily?”
My mother smiled.
“Yes. Lily.”
The following weeks were not easy.
My mother’s health was fragile. She needed a long recovery and couldn’t care for the newborn on her own.
Daniel explained that pregnancy at such an advanced age could have serious consequences even after a successful delivery.
