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He told me to follow him.
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So I drove to his office and parked across the street.
I sent a text: “What do you want for dinner?”
Charlie’s reply came three minutes later. “Late meeting. Don’t wait up. I’ll grab something out.”
My stomach turned.
After 20 minutes, Charlie came out carrying only his keys, shoulders slightly bent in a way I had mistaken for grief alone. I pulled out behind him.
The drive took close to 40 minutes. Then he pulled into the parking lot of the children’s hospital across town, a place I knew too well because it was where Owen had been getting his cancer treatment. Charlie took bags and boxes from his trunk and carried them inside.
I followed.
Charlie took bags and boxes from his trunk and carried them inside.
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He moved with the confidence of someone who knew exactly where he was going. He nodded to a nurse at the desk. She smiled warmly and pointed him toward the far wing. He slipped into a supply room and shut the door.
I looked through the narrow window. Charlie was changing into bright oversized suspenders, a ridiculous checkered coat, and a round red clown nose. Then he took one deep breath, picked up the bags, and walked back into the hall.
I quickly slipped behind a wall and watched him enter the pediatric ward. Children started smiling before Charlie reached the first room. He pulled toys from the bags, handed out coloring books, and did a fake stumble that made one little girl laugh so hard she clapped.
A nurse passing by grinned and said, “You’re late, Professor Giggles!”
Charlie smiled back.
I quickly slipped behind a wall and watched him enter the pediatric ward.
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I stood still. Nothing about what I was seeing matched the suspicion Owen’s letter had lit inside me. I slowly stepped into the ward, unable to hold back any longer.
“Charlie,” I called softly.