Marcus nodded.
“All the time.”
“What did he say?”
“He said you worried too much.”
Diane laughed.
Then she cried.
“That sounds like him.”
“He said you called him three times if he didn’t answer his phone.”
“Only three?”
Marcus smiled.
“He said you could make anyone feel guilty without raising your voice.”
Diane laughed again.
For the first time in three years, the memory of Caleb felt warm rather than painful.
Marcus went to the refrigerator.
He opened the door.
Inside was a small handwritten note held by a magnet.
Diane recognized the handwriting immediately.
It said:
“Mom: buy more coffee. You always run out.”
She stared at it.
“He wrote that?”
Marcus nodded.
“He came here the weekend before he died.”
Diane’s heart skipped.
“What?”
“He said he was going to see you.”
“Why didn’t he?”
Marcus hesitated.
And that hesitation changed the atmosphere in the room.
Diane noticed.
