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.

“I thought if we stopped saying her name, it would hurt less,” he said.

“It just hurt quieter,” Julian said.

“And I had to be the volume.”

Caleb nodded.

He did not defend himself.

For the first time in years, he did not.