Mason spotted him halfway through the presentation.

His shoulders relaxed.

Afterward, Tristan did not tell anyone what a successful father he was.

He just took Mason for ice cream.

Sometimes change is real precisely because nobody announces it.

PART 20 — MASON ASKS THE QUESTION I HAD BEEN AVOIDING

One Sunday evening, Mason sat beside me on the porch.

He was nine now.

Lucas was inside building something complicated from cardboard.

Mason asked: