Chloe pointed again at Dominic’s boots. “Daddy cries beside those shoes when the doctor talks,” she explained. “Uncle Dominic hugs him and says Mommy can’t know yet.” Nobody laughed anymore. I looked at Liam. Every trace of color had disappeared from his face. Dominic immediately lowered his eyes. The Sunday “park runs” had never been trips to the park at all. For almost two months, Dominic had been driving Liam to a specialist while Chloe stayed with them because Liam knew I enjoyed those few extra hours of sleep.

Liam finally asked everyone to give us some privacy. Inside the kitchen, he told me doctors had found a tumor during a routine examination. More tests followed, then consultations and treatment planning. The prognosis was encouraging, but Liam had become terrified after watching his own father die from cancer years earlier. Dominic was the only person he had told. The custom boots Chloe recognized had been beside Dominic’s chair during one appointment when Liam finally broke down.