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“Are you out of your mind?”
He swallowed. “A uniform.”
Mark choked out, “You’re a cop.”
“Yeah.”
Sarah exploded. “Are you out of your mind? She thought you were dead.”
Grant flinched.
His gaze snapped to mine. “Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I just wanted to surprise you by showing up here in my uniform. I thought it would be funny.”
“You’re the only one who didn’t.”
“You didn’t think,” I repeated, and it came out like a slap.
He nodded, shame all over his face. “I thought it would be a quick scare. Then surprise. I didn’t know you were sitting at home for hours.”
“I was. I was sitting at the table.”
That landed like a dropped weight. Mark looked down. Eliza started crying quietly.
“I didn’t tell you about the academy because I didn’t want people to treat me like I was going to fail.”
My laugh came out bitter. “And you thought I would.”
“I didn’t want you to end up like your father.”
“No,” he said fast. “You’re the only one who didn’t.”
He swallowed hard. “You used to tell me I could be anything if I’d stop acting like I didn’t care.”
My throat burned. “I told you that because I didn’t want you to end up like your father.”
The air changed.
Grant’s eyes filled. He nodded as if he’d been carrying that sentence for years. “I know.” He took another step. “I wanted to show you I’m not him.”
I reached out and touched the badge.
Then his voice dropped, and all the bravado drained out of it.
“I wanted you to be proud of me.”
I stared at his badge. It caught the light. Real. Solid. My anger didn’t disappear. But it cracked.
I reached out and touched the badge. “You did this.”
Grant’s lip trembled. “Yeah.”
I blinked hard. “You scared me half to death.”
“Mom. I’m sorry.”
“I know,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
The tears came anyway. Because my worst kid had done something good. Because my hardest kid had tried.
“I thought you were gone,” I said, and my voice broke.
Grant’s face crumpled. He stepped in and hugged me, careful at first, then tight.
“I’m here,” he said into my hair. “I’m here.”
Behind us, Sarah’s voice softened. “Mom. I’m sorry.”
“We wanted it to be perfect.”
Mark’s voice cracked. “We all are.”
Jason cleared his throat. “Yeah. We messed up.”
Eliza hugged my side like she was little again. “We wanted it to be perfect.”
“There’s no perfect,” I said, wiping my cheeks. “There’s just showing up.”
Grant pulled back and looked me in the eye. “No more disappearing. Not me. Not again.”