I walk to her, and I’m expecting her to fight it, expecting her to ignore what we have, but what she does is even better. She gets up and jumps into my arms much like her son just did. Her tears soak into my skin.

“I love you,” I say. “Love you so much,” I say into her neck.

“I love you more,” she finally says, and I feel someone hug my waist and look and see it’s Dylan.

“I’m here,” I tell them both, “but I need a shower.”

My mother goes to the kitchen. “I’ll make something to eat. Dylan, come and help me.”

“Go on. I’m not going anywhere,” I say. Caroline releases me, and I see she is still wearing what she wore yesterday. He walks to my mother who takes him in her arms, and I walk to my bedroom with Caroline’s hand in mine.

I close the door behind us, and she turns and hugs me. “I love you,” she says.

“So much you were going to leave me?” I say, and she looks at me.

“You don’t understand,” she says.

“No, you don’t understand,” I say. “It wouldn’t have changed anything if you left.” She looks at me. “I would have searched my whole life to find you again.”

She walks away from me. “You don’t need this in your life.”

“I need you in my life,” I say. “I need you, and I need Dylan.”

“Justin.”

“Sweetheart,” I say. “I just spent the whole night worried whether you would be here when I came home this morning. I need a shower, and then I want to sit on the couch and have a movie night with my family.”

I walk to the bathroom, and she calls my name.

“Justin.” I turn. “I was going to leave,” she says, which I already knew. “I was going to escape and disappear. You protect the people you love.”

I smile at her. “I would have found you. Without you, there is nothing.”

I pull off my shirt and throw it straight to the trash. “Now do you want to join me in the shower?”

“Your family is here!” she gasps, and I turn and walk into the bathroom, and when I turn around, she’s already naked and getting into the shower before me.