I raised my hands, hoping to get the crowd to settle, and slowly they took it down a notch. I saw faces I hadn’t seen in over a year. Builders, bankers, investors, city officials, all of the people who cared about Phoenix, who were invested in its growth and development, and I was surprised that instead of feeling like the outsider I’d always thought I was, I felt like one of them. One of the people committed to making our city the best place in the world to live, to raise a family, and to pursue dreams.

“Good evening,” I said. The applause started again, but I shook my head. I had a lot of ground to cover and no idea how long I’d be able to stay upright. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen most of you, so I’m going to give you a quick catch-up.”

The room grew deadly quiet. I knew it was because the wild speculation about my abrupt retirement had included theories from I was a mobster and in the witness protection program to I was dying of cancer.

“Eleven months, three weeks, four days, and seven hours ago, I suffered what they call a cerebrovascular accident.” There were a few gasps from people who knew what that meant. One of which was my sister. I glanced at Lexi, and she put her hand over her mouth. Elijah, who was standing next to her, patted her arm and said, not in a whisper, “That’s a stroke. Don’t worry, he’s okay now.”

I smiled. It was always so much simpler when kids explained things. I looked back at the crowd and continued, “Yes, what my young friend says is correct. I had a stroke.”

Now the crowd was murmuring and muttering. I ignored them and looked at Annabelle. Just the sight of her centered me.

“As you can imagine, I didn’t handle this well, especially when it appeared that I had suffered residual damage from the stroke that impeded my ability to walk or think,” I said. “For the first six months after my stroke, I spent half the time picking myself up off the floor; thus, my wheels.” I paused to look at my wheelchair, the thing that had been my security blanket for so long. “I also struggled with severe fatigue and a bit of fuzzy brain.”

I looked back out at the crowd. This was my chance to make things right, and I wasn’t going to blow it. “Unsurprisingly, I became reclusive and withdrawn. I was consumed with the fact that the doctors had no idea why I’d had a stroke and therefore couldn’t tell me if I’d have another. The odds were not in my favor. In short, I was afraid and I let that fear consume me, but then a funny thing happened.”