Daniel had accepted the explanation.
Now the envelope was still sealed.
He sat down slowly.
For several minutes, he couldn't move.
Then he called me.
I arrived half an hour later.
Daniel was sitting in his office with the wooden box open in front of him.
When I entered, he looked up.
His eyes were red.
"Margaret."
I approached the desk.
Then I saw the box.
My heart seemed to stop.
"Claire's letters."
Daniel nodded.
I sat down.
For years, I had wondered what happened to them.
Claire had told me she was writing letters for Lily near the end of her illness, but I had never wanted to pressure Daniel about the contents. I knew how difficult those memories were for him.
I assumed the letters had been given to Lily when the time was right.
Now I realized at least some of them had remained unopened.
Daniel held up the eighth-birthday envelope.
"She was supposed to get this months ago."
I looked at him.
"What happened?"
He shook his head.
"Vanessa told me she'd given it to her."
My eyes filled.
Daniel looked toward the box.
"She told me Lily didn't want to discuss it."
I stared at the sealed envelope.
The handwriting was unmistakably Claire's.
She always wrote the letter L with an exaggerated loop. Even as a child, she insisted that ordinary handwriting was too boring.
I touched the edge of the envelope.
"She spent so much time on these."
Daniel nodded.
"She wanted Lily to have something from her as she grew up."
His voice broke.
"I thought I was respecting their privacy by not asking questions."
I looked at him.
"You trusted someone."
He stared at the letter.
"Someone who was lying."
We sat quietly.
Then Daniel opened another small packet inside the box.
It contained photographs of Claire and Lily.
There was one from Lily's first birthday, showing her covered in cake frosting.
Another showed Claire holding her daughter beneath a flowering tree.
A third showed Lily wearing a yellow dress while Claire laughed beside her.
Daniel smiled through tears.
"She loved that dress."
I nodded.
"She picked it herself."
We looked at the photograph for a long time.
Then Daniel noticed something tucked beneath the pictures.
It was a handwritten note.
Not an envelope.
Just a small sheet of paper folded in half.