I looked at Dr. Patel.
She gave a small nod that said, Be honest.
“I was your father’s friend once,” I said. “Not a close friend. But he trusted me with something important. Now I want to help keep that promise.”
“So you’re promise family?” Owen asked.
The words hit me so hard I could not answer for a second.
Nathan looked at me, and something passed between us.
Not rivalry.
Not ownership.
Something quieter.
Permission, maybe.
“If that’s okay with you,” I said.
Owen considered it.
Then he lifted Captain and made the bear nod.
“Captain says okay.”
Lily wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Captain is very wise.”
“He’s a captain,” Owen said, as if this explained everything.
And for the first time since the airport, the children had a new word for what was forming around them.
Not perfect.
Not simple.
Not yet permanent.
But real.
Promise
