That mattered to me. I wasn’t deciding for him simply because I wanted a neat ending.
Over pancakes, Cindy’s son apologized directly.
“What my mother said was wrong. You shouldn’t have needed a room full of strangers to prove that you belonged there.”
That mattered to me.
Liam cut into his breakfast. “I already knew I belonged. I just forgot for a minute.”
My throat tightened.
Cindy’s son smiled gently. “That’s fair.”
He pointed toward the game tables near the patio.
“We were going to play cards after breakfast,” he said. “Do you think you can beat us?”
Ben looked ready to answer for him.
“I already knew I belonged.”
I held up one finger.
“Liam?”
He considered the invitation. “Probably.”
Cindy’s son smiled. “That confident?”
Liam shrugged. “Vacation rules.”
“That confident?”
***
As we left breakfast, Ben reached toward Liam’s handles and then stopped himself.
Liam glanced back. “You’re learning.”
“Slowly,” Ben admitted.
***
The night before, Cindy had tried to decide where my son was allowed to exist.
That morning, Liam rolled into the room first and chose his own place.
My job was to stand beside him while he claimed every inch of it.
