Carter placed ninth.
He stared at the screen.
Then he smiled.
Ninth.
A year earlier, he would have considered it humiliation.
Now it belonged to him.
He had earned every point.
He walked toward me.
“Ninth.”
I stood.
“Ninth.”
He laughed.
“I actually did it.”
“You did.”
Noah and Nathan approached carrying their medals.
Carter looked at them.
“I’m coming for you next year.”
Nathan raised an eyebrow.
“You’re twenty-three points behind.”
Carter grinned.
“Twenty-two next year.”
Noah laughed.
I looked at the three boys.
My sons.
Different mothers.
Different childhoods.
Different wounds.
But standing together.
Claire walked beside me.
“You look ridiculous.”
I touched my face.
I was crying.
“I know.”
She smiled.
The host called the winners onto the stage.
Nathan walked first.
