Part 2
The front door of the SUV opened slowly.
Delilah stepped out first, her movements hesitant, as if she expected the ground to swallow her up.
She reached back into the car and lifted Noah out.
The little boy clung to his mother's neck, his big eyes scanning the quiet street.
They walked across the pavement together.
Every step seemed heavy, laden with the memories of the last five years.
As they reached the front porch, the locksmith handed Helen three brand-new silver keys.
"You're all set, Mrs. Carter," Thomas said, tipping his hat. "Nobody is getting in here without these."
"Thank you, Thomas," Helen said, slipping two of the keys into her pocket.
She turned and handed the third key directly to Delilah.
Delilah stared at the small piece of metal lying in her palm.
It was shiny. It was clean.
It didn't belong to Evan.
"Go ahead," Helen whispered. "Open it."
Delilah’s hand shook as she fit the key into the brand-new lock.
It turned with a smooth, satisfying click.
She pushed the door open.
The scent hit them immediately.
It didn't smell like home anymore.
It smelled of Lorraine’s heavy, expensive lavender perfume and the stale scent of Evan's expensive cigars.
The living room was in disarray.
Drawers were left open, papers were scattered across the floor, and the walls were bare where pictures had been hastily ripped down.
Delilah stood in the center of the room, looking around.
A wave of exhaustion seemed to hit her all at once.
She sank onto the edge of the bare sofa, burying her face in her hands.
Her shoulders shook silently.
Noah immediately ran to her side, patting her knee with his small hand.
"Don't cry, Mommy. The bad people are gone."
Helen walked over and knelt down in front of them both.
She wrapped her arms around her daughter and her grandson, pulling them tight.
"It’s okay to cry, sweetheart," Helen murmured into Delilah’s hair.
"But these are the last tears they get to take from you."
"From now on, we rebuild."
After a few minutes, Delilah wiped her eyes and looked around the room.
"They took almost everything, Mom. Even the television. Even the rugs."
"Good," Helen said, standing up and dusting off her knees.
"It means we don't have to look at their choices anymore."
"We have two garbage bags of clothes, and that's enough to start."
Noah wandered down the hallway toward his bedroom.
Delilah and Helen followed him anxiously, worried about what he might find.
The door to his room was pushed halfway open.
Inside, the bedframe was gone.
Evan had taken the expensive racecar bed his own parents had bought for Noah, leaving only the mattress on the floor.
But in the corner of the room, sitting on top of the mattress, was something else.
It was the small, stuffed rabbit missing one ear.
The one Delilah had cherished when she was four years old, which she had passed down to Noah.
Evan and Lorraine had deemed it too old and worthless to take.
Noah ran forward, scooping the rabbit into his arms.
He hugged it tightly to his chest and looked up at Helen with a radiant smile.
"Grandma! Barnaby is still here!"
Helen felt a tear slip down her own cheek, but she wiped it away quickly.
"Of course he is, Noah," she said, her voice thick with emotion.
May you like
"Barnaby knew you were coming back."
"And he knows this is your house now."
