He locked his bike, grabbed his helmet and went into the building before he could change his mind. His father’s voice sprang into his head. “Men take care of business. Talking about things never did anyone any good. Let it go. Put it behind you.” Daniel pushed forward. He’d tried that. It wasn’t working for him.

The floors of the building were still wet from being mopped, and the familiar antiseptic scent of the cleaner reminded him of the ER, and oddly calmed his heartbeat. The suite was the first one in the building, and a few men passed him as he peeked in the door. Seemed like a typical setup, with chairs in a circle and simple refreshments on the side.

Daniel stepped into the room, his stomach in knots. What was he afraid of? He surveyed the men in the room. All of these men were fathers who had lost a child. Any one of them could have been his patient. There did not seem to be any pattern to them. Some were in expensive suits, some were in uniforms. They seemed to come from all walks of life, every socioeconomic class and every race. All the men greeted one another with friendly smiles and handshakes.

Daniel walked farther into the room, suddenly afraid to make eye contact, when a familiar accent stopped him. Definitely Indian. He turned to find Annika’s father in conversation with a small group of men.

Wait, what?

He caught Daniel’s eye and nodded, a small smile at his lips.

Mr. Mehta glanced at the clock and clapped his hands together. “Shall we get started, then?”

A hum of murmuring, and the scraping of chairs on the tile, as each man found a seat in the circle. A redheaded man standing near Daniel pulled out an extra chair and pointed to it. “Have a seat.” He extended his hand. “I’m Ron. You look new.”

Daniel shook Ron’s hand. “Daniel. And yes, I am.”

Ron’s eyes softened. “Sorry for your loss. But good for you for coming here. If there’s a way out of the hole you’re in, Anil has the map.”

Confused, Daniel took the seat Ron offered. Once everyone was settled, Mr. Mehta called the meeting to order.

“I am Anil Mehta, and I welcome you all. We will go around and see how everyone is doing, and while we do have someone here with us for the first time, I will break protocol just this once and introduce myself before we meet him. He is someone I have not really met up until now.” Anil turned his gaze on Daniel, eyes warm and friendly. “My name is Anil Mehta, and I lost my son, Vipul, twenty-five years ago.”