My one safe harbor.

My throat clenched painfully as the truth started pounding against the walls of my mind.

“The little girl in this picture is my mom, Joanne?” I whispered, reaching out to touch the photo.

“Yes, that was your mother before life got so complicated,” Lucas said with a nod, tears welling in his eyes.

“And the boy next to her with his arm around her, that’s you?” I asked, looking up into his face.

“Yes, Cassie, that boy was me,” Lucas answered, his voice cracking under the weight of decades.