Jonah frowned.
“You won’t be my dad anymore?”
Kyle looked toward me.
I stayed silent.
“I’ll always be the man you came from,” he answered.
“But Gabriel is the man who has been there every single day.”
“I want the law to protect what’s already true.”
Jonah thought carefully.
“Can I still see you?”
“Only if you want to.”
“You can come to my baseball games.”
Kyle smiled through tears.
“I’d like that.”
“Don’t film them.”
“I won’t.”
At 10:42 that morning, the judge finalized the adoption.
Gabriel cried openly when Jonah officially became Jonah Mercer.
Kyle applauded once from the back of the courtroom…
Then quietly stepped into the hallway.
I followed him.
“You did the right thing.”
“I should have done the right thing years ago.”
“Yes.”
He looked surprised that I didn’t soften the truth.
Then he nodded.
“I hope you’re happy, Lena.”
