“You okay, Dad?” Noah asked.
I nodded, though we both knew it was not entirely true.
“I will be.”
He stood beside me in silence.
After a while, he said, “I used to think everyone left eventually.”
I looked at him.
“When Mom disappeared, I kept waiting for you to leave too. Every time I got angry or caused trouble, I thought that would finally be the thing that made you go.”
“I know.”
“But you never did.”
“No.”
He looked toward the yard.
“You gave up everything for us.”
I shook my head.
“I didn’t give up everything, Noah. I chose my family.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“You were never required to be our dad.”
“Maybe not on paper.”
He smiled faintly.
“But you are.”
I placed my hand on his shoulder.
“And you’re my son.”
The Family We Found After Losing Her
Matilda became part of our lives gradually.
