She nodded slightly.

“If your mom says it’s all right,” he said.

“Mom says lots of things are all right after homework,” Theo informed him.

On the drive home, Preston found himself replaying the small meeting instead of checking his email.

There had been no grand revelation.

The boys had not run into his arms and called him Dad.

They had asked him about shoes and wooden blocks.

Somehow that modest trust felt more precious than anything he owned.