Daniel standing alone near the west orchard, watching Marcus drive away after a brief visit.
That evening, Daniel said only, Our son is running from himself.
I had thought he was being dramatic.
Now I understood.
“Why did your father protect you?”
“He said he wanted to give me one final chance.”
Marcus’s eyes filled, but the tears did not move me as they once would have.
“He gave you a chance,” I said. “Then I gave you hundreds more.”
“I know.”
“No, Marcus. You know the words. Knowing the cost is different.”
He lowered his head.
I stood.
“Tell the investigators everything. Not for me. Not for a reduced sentence. Tell them because it is the first honest thing you may have done in years.”
“Mom.”
I stopped at the door.
“Is there any chance we can be a family again?”
The question nearly broke me.
Not because the answer was simple.
