“You don’t have to thank me for following a plan we both agreed to.

Just follow it.”

“I will.”

We stood in the same rain for a moment, strangers carrying a shared history and a child who needed us both to be responsible adults.

Vance turned to go, then stopped.

“I still think about the letters.

If I’d given you that first one, maybe none of this would have happened.”

“No,” I said.