“Are you and Dad picking me up together after school?”

Ivan met my eyes and gave a small, respectful nod.

“We sure are, sweetheart,” I said, and kissed the top of his head, and he whooped and ran off to find his class.

Ivan put his hands in his pockets.

“Thank you,” he said.

“For never taking away my chance to be his dad.”

“I never wanted to take anything from you, Ivan.

I only had to stop you from taking everything from me.”