simply because he was family.
So if a child ever clings to you with that kind of desperation, if their voice changes when a certain adult’s name is mentioned, if they beg you not to leave and you feel your stomach drop for reasons you cannot yet explain, listen before you rationalize. Listen before you protect anyone’s reputation. Listen before you tell yourself it would be impossible.
Impossible is a story adults tell themselves when the truth is too ugly to admit.
My son told me the truth in a whisper.
Everything that came after started with choosing to hear him.
