“Even with all the difficult parts?”

“Especially because you let me see the difficult parts.”

I watched my son laugh as a leaf caught against his shoe.

I thought of the ambulance siren, the hospital corridor, and the way Warren had waited outside the door instead of demanding to enter.

He had given me something I’d once thought powerful men couldn’t give: space to choose.

“I wish Mom could see this,” I said.

“So do I,” Warren replied.