“Dad… My Back Hurts So Bad I Can’t Sleep. Mom Told Me Not to Tell You.” I Had Just Walked In From a Business Trip

Not ceremonially.

It was a suitcase.

That was all.

The front door of that old house had once represented the moment I walked into a truth I did not expect.

For a long time I built my identity around:

I came home in time.

Eventually I let that go too.

Because it contained another dangerous fantasy.