James opened the watch case next. “My dad wore this every day,” he said. At the bottom of the bundle was a note in Daniel’s handwriting. James read it once, then handed it to Brian. For later. Brian looked up. James was staring at the open floor cavity like he could see through it into the night his father had hidden everything there.
“They really thought they were coming back,” he said. Brian nodded. “Yeah.” For a while, neither of them spoke. Cooper came over and lowered himself beside James, resting against his leg. A week later, James came back with an envelope.