The nursery door creaked, a sound Mommy knew by heart all to well, like the first note of their private symphony. She didn’t turn from the window, letting the curtain brush her knuckles as she counted his footsteps. Eleven towards the rocking chair. Always eleven. His diaper crinkled as he settled on the rug, stacking alphabet blocks with clumsy hands. Cherrywood scent clung to him; she’d bathed him in bergamot oil an hour ago, scrubbing beneath his arms with a loofah until his skin pinkened. Mommy knelt beside him, silk robe pooling like a waterfall […]