“I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. You just have to keep showing up. Keep being honest. Keep proving that the man you’re becoming is worth the second chance you’ve been given.”
“And if I do?”
I held up the key.
“This is to the house on Willow Street. It’s yours. Legally. Completely. No strings. You’ve earned it.”
He took the key and stared at it.
“What about the rest?”
“The rest is mine for now. Maybe forever. I haven’t decided yet.”
I smiled.
“But you don’t need it, Robert. You never did. You just needed to believe in yourself.”
He stood up, crossed the room, and hugged me.
Not a polite hug.
A real one.
The kind he used to give me when he was small and scared and needed to know I’d keep him safe.
