It wasn’t a promise of recovery.

It was something meaningful he could do today.

PART 15

We invited my sister, Callum’s brother, and Sadie to Sunday lunch.

It was the first time Callum had spoken openly with relatives about what was happening.

Until then I’d carried the explanations, and he had allowed it because the details embarrassed and frightened him.

He stood near the table and told them he had been undergoing treatment, that the future was uncertain, and that he needed to do a better job accepting support.

His voice trembled at the beginning but steadied as he continued.