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Mom sed hard Meredith could see how she steeled herself to say, “We?”

Stacey put a hand out

Mo on

Stacey led her through the living room and out a set of French doors Beyond lay a perfectly tended backyard The scent of floas a sweetness in the air—lilacs and honeysuckle and jashts cahout the yard

That hen Meredith saw the sarden tucked in the back of the yard Even froht, she could see an ornate bit of fencing

She heard her ain, all of thearden that was almost exactly like the one Mom had created at home A white ironwork fence with ornate curliques and pointed tips fraround Inside was a polished copper bench that faced three granite headstones There were flowers bloo, lowed ahts

Mom sat—collapsed, really—on the copper bench and Stacey sat beside her, holding her hand

Meredith and Nina stood behind her; each put a hand on Mom’s shoulder

VERONIKA PETROVNA MARCHENKO

1919–

Remember our lime tree in the Summer Garden I will meet you there, my love

LEO ALEKSOVICH MARCHENKO 1938–1942

Our Lion

Gone too soon

But it was the last marker that made Meredith squeeze her mother’s shoulder