He led Ash to the mouth of the cave where Ash had first brought him all those months before. Inside, the cries of gulls echoed but all other sound was muffled.

From the bag he’d stashed there the day before, he took candles, a lighter, and a blanket and made them a cozy spot on the cave floor.

They sat facing each other, and Truman held Ash’s hands.

“I wanted to come here for your birthday because meeting you, coming here, it’s been like a rebirth for me. I know we talk a lot about all the plans we have for Thorn and for other projects we want to do. I think…I’ve always wanted a partner. Someone I would share my life with, and my ambitions. And I didn’t really think it would ever happen. But then there you were.”

Truman got choked up, and Ash’s stormy eyes sparkled with unshed tears.

“I’m so damn glad you were born, Ash. And I feel so incredibly lucky that I found you. I know you didn’t want a bunch of presents, but I just got you this little one.”

He handed Ash the small packet. Ash tore off the paper and peered at what he held.

“It’s seeds for your favorite wildflowers. I thought, since you mentioned you wanted to start growing them to sell in the shop next summer, maybe you could start with these. It’s nothing really. I’m just so proud of you and all the risks you’ve—”

Ash knelt up and threw his arms around Truman. He didn’t say anything, but Truman could feel everything he felt in his embrace.

Ash pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket and held it close to his chest when he sat down again.

“I drew this when I was, like, ten,” he said, voice thick. “I’d forgotten about it until my mom gave me all those drawings today.” He glanced at the drawing. “I told her it was me and a brother or something, but it wasn’t.”

Slowly, tentatively, he held the drawing out to Truman. His hand shook.

In colored pencil, Ash had rendered a house that looked very much like their house. In front of it stood a young Ash—Truman thought he would recognize him anywhere—holding the leash of a sweet-looking dog with its tongue out. But it was the person next to him that Truman peered at.

Ash was holding hands with another boy, who had light brown hair and a shy smile. He was holding a dog’s leash as well. Around the house grew brightly colored tulips.