Buddy was sitting beside her bed.

She smiled.

“You’re still here.”

The dog wagged his tail.

She reached down and touched his head.

“You knew him, didn’t you?”

Buddy rested his chin on her knee.

Diane suddenly understood why the dog had led her away from the memorial bench.

He wasn’t trying to take her to Caleb.

He was taking her to the part of Caleb’s life she had never seen.

To Marcus.

To the photographs.

To the storage unit.

To the plans.

To the truth.

Buddy couldn’t speak.

But somehow, he had carried Caleb’s memory farther than any letter could.

---

A New Beginning

Diane could have walked away.

She could have returned home with the letters and photographs.

She could have left Marcus to his own life.

But she remembered Caleb’s final words.

Please don’t let him disappear again.

So she didn’t.

She invited Marcus to dinner.

He refused at first.