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“The shelter, Mom. The kids there… they don’t have much. We’ve been talking about the place at school.”
“Do you think… could I give them away?”
“Your dad would have loved that, Mason.”
We boxed up the bears together, Mason tucking a handwritten note in each one:
“Made with love. You are not alone. Mason.”
At the shelter, Spencer greeted us with a wide-eyed grin. “Are these all yours, Mason?”
Mason nodded, hands twisting his sleeve. “Yes, sir.”
Spencer picked up a bear, his voice thick. “The kids are going to flip.”
Children’s voices echoed from the next room. A little girl in pink pajamas peeked over, clutching her doll.
“Your dad would have loved that, Mason.”
Mason knelt down. “Go on, pick one. They’re for you.”
Her face lit up. “Thank you!”
Spencer smiled at me. “You’re raising a good one, Catherine.”
I squeezed Mason’s shoulder, my heart full. “He gets it from his dad. Ethan never did anything halfway.”
Mason’s eyes glimmered as he watched the children hug their new stuffed toys. For a second, the heaviness inside me lifted.
Spencer gave us a tour, showing Mason the sewing corner, an old machine, a pile of threadbare quilts, scraps of fabric. Mason’s eyes lit up.
“You’re raising a good one, Catherine.”
“You sew here? Really?”
Spencer chuckled. “Well, we try, but nothing fancy.”
Mason knelt, examining the machine. “Maybe I could help sometime?”
“We’d love that. Some of the older kids would love that too!”
On the drive home, Mason was quiet, but not in the same way. He watched the world go by, fingers toying with the button on his sleeve.
“Did you have fun, son?” I asked.
He nodded, voice soft. “Yeah, I did. I really did.”
“Maybe I could help sometime?”
That night, he left a bear on my pillow, a small one, made from Ethan’s fishing shirt.
“That’s for you, Mom. So you’re not lonely at night.”
I hugged him, tears burning my eyes. “Thank you, baby.”
For the first time, I let myself believe we were going to be okay.
Wednesday morning started with someone banging at my front door.
I jolted awake, heart thudding. Sunlight barely filtered through the blinds. I stumbled to the window, squinting outside.
I let myself believe we were going to be okay.
Two sheriff’s cruisers were parked outside my house, along with a dark town car I didn’t recognize. A deputy stood near the lead vehicle, and my stomach twisted.
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