Ooh, here's another fantastic "reveal" with well-chosen words:
He had no real memory of his father, the image in his head being largely built upon hearsay and the few pictures his mother kept in the bottom drawer of her dresser, under the silk lingerie she had no use for these days, but she did not have the heart to throw away. In those old photos, Harold was always smiling or goofing around in a silly party hat. Richie had trouble imagining his mother laughing, but the photos were proof that she used to. Before he was born.