Denise shot him a warning look.
That look told me more than any confession could.
Simon noticed it too.
“What does he mean?” he asked.
“No one means anything,” Denise said quickly. “This day is emotional.”
“Denise,” Jonathan said, “you told me Joanna agreed to raise Simon temporarily while you built a stable home.”
I stared at him.
“She told me,” Jonathan continued, his voice lower now, “that you refused to give him back.”
The courtyard sounds faded around me.
Simon released my hand.
“Is that what you’ve been telling people?” he asked.
Denise swallowed. “I simplified it.”
“You changed it.”
Her face hardened. “You have no idea what it felt like to watch my own child call someone else Mom.”
Simon’s voice softened. “You taught me to.”
That broke something in her expression.
The five of us stood there beneath the bright sky, surrounded by families taking photos, while nineteen years of silence pressed in from every side.
Then Principal Harris approached with a careful smile.
“Simon, there are a few scholarship donors who’d like to meet you,” she said. Her eyes moved over our faces, understanding enough to pretend she didn’t. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Simon nodded. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
“No,” I said, wiping my cheeks. “Go now. This is your day.”
He hesitated.
I smiled, though it wobbled. “I’m not going anywhere.”