I needed something to remember, something tangible, something to stop my own seams from tearing open one by one. I needed to be his roots, his refuge. His pain had always been my pain. Every breaking sob, every heaving breath belonged to me, belonged to us. I kissed his forehead and wiped his cheeks with my thumbs. I held him close and told him he never had to let go. I told him I was here, right here, and I wasn’t going anywhere. I told him how much I loved him, how much I loved his father, his family, how much he meant to me.
