Chapter Text
Joyce reads to El every night before bed, just like Hopper used to, only it's Little Women instead of Anne of Green Gables.
Curled up on the couch with mugs of hot cocoa, they take turns reading passages to each other. When it’s El’s turn to read, Joyce is patient, helping her with some of the tougher words and stopping to explain if she has questions, like:
“How do you say Mar-mee?”
“What are pickled limes?"
“Are Jo and Laurie ever going to get married?”
And, the hardest one to answer, “What happened to Beth?”
The book makes them laugh and talk and cry, and it’s good for them both, providing a sense of calm in their nightly routine.
Joyce even acts out all the different characters as she reads and she slips between them with ease, to El’s great amusement. She likes it when Joyce reads Jo’s lines the best.
The story about loss and a family’s love enduring resonates with El, who has also lost a lot in her short life. It was Joyce’s favorite growing up, so she’s happy she can finally share it with a daughter she always hoped for, but never had, until now.
The book guides them through their mutual grief. So it goes, the March sisters help them forget the weight of the world for a while.