Then he looks up at me, and his eyes are clear and easy in a way they weren’t for a long time.

“Thanks,” he says, “for not letting them take us away.”

I pull him in and kiss the top of his head, and I have to wait a second before I can talk.

“I didn’t save you, Owen,” I tell him.

“You’ve got it backwards, buddy.

You five are the ones who saved me.”

Chapter 13 — The Envelope

About a year after the adoption became final, a heavy white envelope came in the mail with the seal of the Department of Health and Human Services printed in the corner.