mine. They’ve never regretted that day in the hallway. We don’t talk about David much — not out of bitterness, just out of irrelevance. You don’t spend much time discussing a person who isn’t in your life, and David isn’t, because the boys decided he wasn’t, calmly and completely, in the span of one awards ceremony.
David reached out a few times after that — the awakened interest of a man who discovered his discarded children were impressive. The twins declined. They were gracious about it, because they’re better people than their father, but they were clear: he’d had thirteen years to be their dad and had chosen, every single day, not to be, and you don’t get to show up for the medal ceremony of a childhood you skipped. I supported whatever they decided, because it was theirs to decide, and they decided they already had the parent they needed.
I
