“Yeah, Mom, we have another surprise,” he says, and this time, he jumps up and down. “Can we show her? Can we show her?”

“Sure,” Justin says, and I have to stop smiling so much because my face hurts.

“Come see, Mom,” he says, turning and running away.

“Do I want to know?” I ask Justin, and he just shrugs.

“Mom,” Dylan sings my name. “Come on, come on.” I walk out of the room and go to the game room, and Dylan is jumping up and down. “Close your eyes,” he says, and I close my eyes. He takes my hand, and I walk blindly into the room. “Surprise,” he says, and I open my eyes, and I stare at the room in shock.

“What …” I start to say, “is this?” I look around.

“It’s a fort for movie night,” Dylan says excitedly, still jumping up and down. Sheets are tied up to the ceiling and hang down to look like the top of a tent, all around the couch. “Come see inside,” he says, crawling inside, and pillows are everywhere and covers along with snacks are on the table. “Look, it’s a fort.”

“How did you guys do this?” I ask, peeking in.

“We did it after we got home from working out, Mom,” he says so matter-of-factly.

“You guys were just busy as bees today,” I say, and he nods.

“Okay, buddy,” Justin says. “Time to go finish dinner so we can eat.”

Dylan nods at him and walks out of the room.

I watch him with awe. “You …” I say, shaking my head. “You really are.”

“I really am,” he says and grabs my hand, pulling me back into his room and through to the bathroom. I stop dead in my tracks.

“Mother of God,” I say, looking at his bathroom. I don’t know what I was expecting—obviously, it had to be amazing—but I wasn’t expecting it to be so big. Double vanity sinks with marble counters and deep gray drawers under it. But the best is the floor-to-ceiling window with a deep white tub facing it. Right in front of a huge walk-in shower.

“Just take your time,” he says, bending to kiss my cheek. “And we’ll be ready whenever you get out.”

“But …” I start to say.

“I’ll give him a snack,” he says, and I laugh when he walks out of the room. I sit down on the edge of the tub and rub my face. The beginning of the day, I thought I was done, that there was no light at the end of my tunnel. Yet I’m sitting in a room that is all light and no darkness. I don’t know what else is going to come, but I’m suddenly not afraid of the dark.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Justin