“If he picked a day and actually came.”

With Tommy’s permission, I shared that answer with Mark.

I did not send the drawing.

I wanted our son to keep ownership of his feelings, not see them turned into evidence in another argument.

Mark called Tommy that evening and offered a Sunday afternoon at the public library’s science exhibit.

He arrived on time.

They spent two hours building a model bridge out of wooden sticks and came back carrying a photograph of it.

After Mark left, Tommy opened his notebook and drew another line across the river.