PART 11
Arthur stood again.
But he didn’t go to Fiona.
He came to me.
For the first time in years, my father looked small.
“Jocelyn,” he said, his voice shaking. “Is it true? All of it?”
I looked at him.
“The part where I spent my career doing something you never bothered to understand? Yes.”
His mouth trembled.
“I thought…”
“You thought what Fiona told you to think.”
He looked toward her.
Then back at me.
“I’m sorry.”
Two words.
Late.
Small.
Not enough.
But real enough to hurt.
I picked up the fake badge from the table.
It was a good replica.
Good enough to fool civilians.
Not good enough to fool the people who had carried the weight behind it.
“This badge means nights without sleep,” I said. “It means discipline when your body begs you to quit.”
I looked at Fiona.
“It does not mean being better than other people.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“It means becoming responsible enough not to pretend.”
May you like
Then I placed the fake badge back on the table.
“Keep it,” I said. “It’s all you ever wanted anyway.”
