My Son Walked Across the Graduation Stage Wearing a Bright Red Dress While Hundreds of People Laughed. I Was the Only Person in the Auditorium Who Knew Why.

We sat in the kitchen with tea.

The locket lay on the table beside a fold of silk.

The house felt larger, as if a locked room had opened.

The knock came softly.

Caleb stood on the porch with his jacket over his arm, eyes raw.

He looked smaller than the man who had packed a bag over a phone call.