Eleanor waited silently.
I continued.
I left because your mother found a man willing to become the father I had already failed to be.
There are different kinds of courage.
Sometimes courage means fighting for someone.
Sometimes it means staying.
And sometimes it means stepping away because your presence would create more pain than your absence.
I pressed one hand against my mouth.
I hope you grow into a man kinder than the men in my family.
I hope money never teaches you that another person matters less.
I hope when life gives you the choice between being important and being decent, you choose decent.
I laughed through tears.
Eleanor began crying too.
Then I reached the final lines.
And if you ever see someone stranded on the side of the road, stop.
Your father always did.
Love,
Dad.
For several minutes, I couldn’t speak.
The entire impossible week collapsed into that sentence.
