The Birthday Cards
Chapter 11 - The Birthday Cards
Rachel mailed Luke everything Caleb had left behind.
There were eight birthday cards.
One for every year of Luke’s life.
Emily had received some.
Others never arrived.
Luke opened them slowly.
The first said:
You are one today. I hope you laugh like your mother.
The fourth:
I saw a boy on a bicycle today and wondered if you can ride yet.
The seventh:
I don’t know if you will ever forgive a father you never met.
Luke stopped reading.
Jax sat beside him.
“Was he a bad person?”
Jax thought about Victor’s accusation.
Caleb had made mistakes.
Serious ones.
But people were not only the worst thing they had done.
“No.”
Then Jax corrected himself.
“He wasn’t perfect.”
“Did he love me?”
Jax looked at the cards.
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t he come?”
Jax took a long breath.
“Because he thought leaving kept you safe.”
Luke looked angry.
“That’s stupid.”
Jax almost laughed.
“Yeah.”
“Mom did that too.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not going to do that, right?”
Jax looked at him.
“No.”
Luke held out his hand.
“Promise?”
May you like
This time, Jax did not hesitate.
“Promise.”
