She’d been counting down the days until her fifth birthday party, making paper chains to mark each passing morning. Every night before bed, she’d ask me, “How many more sleeps until my special day, Mommy?”

The morning of her party, I woke up at six to start decorating our small backyard. Streamers in lavender and rose gold twisted between the trees. Balloons clustered at every corner. I’d rented a bounce house shaped like a castle, and the sight of it inflating in our yard made my chest warm with anticipation.