I counted on my fingers.
“Get decent grades. Annoy me. Leave clothes on the floor occasionally. Be twelve.”
He laughed.
“Deal.”
For a few moments, we watched the ocean.
Then his expression became serious.
“I was really scared at the airport.”
I looked at him.
He stared at his hands.
“I thought I might never see you again.”
I reached across the table and took his hand.
“A mother finds her son, Noah.”
He looked up.
“No matter what?”
I squeezed his fingers.
“No matter what game somebody tries to make us play.”
Noah smiled.
This time, there was nothing forced about it.
The morning sun rose higher over the water.
And for the first time in months, neither of us was waiting for someone else to decide our future.
We already had it.
