“Hey, buddy,” David said, his voice softening in a way I’d never heard before.

Alex gave him a shy smile, holding up a toy car he’d brought along. “Vroom,” he said simply, and David chuckled, nodding.

“Yeah, vroom.”

Despite everything, there was a strange sort of peace in that small exchange. I knew our past couldn’t be rewritten, but maybe—just maybe—a new chapter could be started.

As the evening wound down, Margaret approached me once more, her expression inscrutable, her eyes searching mine.

“Evelyn,” she began, and for a moment, I thought I saw a hint of vulnerability there, “perhaps we could… get to know each other better, for Alex’s sake.”

I nodded, understanding what she couldn’t bring herself to say. “I’d like that.”

As I left with Alex, I realized that while Margaret might have planned to embarrass me, it was a night of revelations and unexpected beginnings. I hadn’t just arrived with a secret—I’d arrived with a future.