“That’s all I needed to hear.” Outside, the storm had cleared. The sun broke through in thin, golden stripes across the wet pavement. As they walked out together the air smelled of rain and morning.
For the first time in a long while, the silence between them wasn’t filled with guilt or distance. It was something simpler, something almost new. “Let’s get these two home,” Helen said quietly. And for both of them, this time, home meant the same thing.