Seven months after our divorce, I rushed into St. Jude’s Children’s and Women’s Hospital, still angry at my ex-wife, only to learn that she had just given birth to twin boys, and both of them were mine. Before the night was over, a nurse would place a brass key in my hand and tell me to use it before my own family arrived. And what was waiting for me beyond that was even more shocking.

Evelyn,” I said, real awe in my voice.

“I honestly wondered whether you’d have the courage to come here alone,” she observed calmly.

“I brought Marcus Vance with me,” I said, gesturing behind me.

“Yes, I can see perfectly well that you brought him,” Evelyn noted, her eyes narrowing a little as she looked at Marcus.

Marcus immediately dropped his eyes to the floor in shame.

Evelyn turned her full attention back to me, studying my face closely for a long moment.

“You have your grandfather’s exact hands,” she remarked softly.