Sadie had arranged place cards with colored markers.

Under Callum’s name she’d written DAD, not DOCTOR.

When he noticed, he smiled and kept the little card in his pocket.

Callum’s brother offered to handle school pickups on appointment days.

My sister volunteered to bring meals twice a month.

We thanked them and chose only what would actually help.

I had learned that accepting assistance wasn’t the same as giving up control.

Later, when the house was quiet, Callum asked me whether I’d been lonely before all this began.