Chapter 235
We were quiet for a moment, just breathing together across the phone line.
Then Dafa spoke, his voice softer now. "I wish I'd been there."
"I know." I traced the edge of the pin with my finger. "But I think I needed to do it myself. To see that I could walk into that house without you. That I belonged there on my own."
"And did you?"
I smiled. "I did. Your grandmother held my hand and told me I was family. That I'd always been family."
"She's right."
"And your father..." I paused. "He was happy, Dafa. Really happy. He laughed at something my mother said. He looked relaxed. I've never seen him like that."
Dafa was quiet for a moment. Then: "He's been different since you came into our lives. Lighter. Like something loosened in him."
I thought about Mr. Halton's rare smile, the way he'd pulled me into that awkward hug. "He's a good man."
"He is." Dafa's voice was warm. "And my grandmother? She was good to your mother?"
