You would start imagining a future for us.
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And when I learned I was sick too, I couldn’t bear to watch you lose that future twice.
Tears fell onto the page.
That sounded exactly like him.
Always protecting me when I was supposed to protect him.
The letter continued.
Emily knew about my diagnosis before you did.
I told her because she already understood what it feels like when doctors stop talking about years and start talking about months.
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I covered my mouth.
Laura sat beside me.
“Emily knew he was sick?”
“Yes.”
“She never told you?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Caleb asked her not to.”
For several minutes, we sat silently outside the church.
Two mothers discovering that our children had built an entire world between them without us.
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Then Laura said:
“There’s something else you need to know.”
I almost laughed.
Every sentence that day seemed to begin that way.
