His voice broke again.
“And I realized I’ve been showing up for nine years while telling myself it wasn’t enough.”
I took his hand.
We sat quietly until nearly eleven.
Then the back door opened.
Kaylee came home from her team’s celebration, wearing her warmup jacket with her braid half undone.
She stopped when she noticed us at the kitchen table.
Her eyes moved toward the rose.
Then she walked over to Travis and sat on his knee.
She hadn’t done that since she was little.
At five feet ten inches tall, she barely fit.
Nobody cared.
“Everyone keeps showing me videos from tonight,” she announced. “Someone posted Grandpa walking across the court. It’s already all over Facebook.”
Travis laughed softly.
“Your grandpa doesn’t even know what Facebook is.”
“I know. That’s the funniest part.”
Then she became serious.
“Travis, I wasn’t angry because you said no.”
