wall pretending she had come to speak with the doctor. Jason leaned against the doorway with his arms folded. My father held a paper cup of coffee he never drank.
Ethan gripped the walking frame.
His therapist stood beside him.
“One step at a time,” she said.
He moved his right foot.
Then his left.
The third step made his shoulders shake.
By the seventh, sweat had gathered at his temples.
At the tenth, everyone stopped breathing.
He reached twelve and lowered himself into the chair.
Vivian turned toward the window, wiping her eyes before anyone could see.
Jason walked forward.
“You always did enjoy an audience.”
Ethan looked up at him.
“You came.”
“Only to confirm the rumors of your terrible technique.”
For a moment, the cousins regarded each other across everything that had happened.
Then Ethan held out his hand.
Jason stared at it.
“You knew I was
