To understand what happened that morning, I need to go back several months.
Part 2 — The Promise My Son Made
Noah and Grace had been friends since elementary school.
They were the sort of children who seemed to have an entire language of their own.
They shared jokes nobody else understood, argued over ridiculous things, and could spend hours together without ever running out of subjects to discuss.
In third grade, they worked on a science project involving earthworms.
Somehow, half the worms escaped from their container during the drive home.
I spent the following week convinced there were still worms somewhere beneath my car seats.
Noah and Grace found the whole situation hilarious.
They had been inseparable ever since.
Then, the previous year, everything changed.
Grace was diagnosed with cancer.
I still remember the evening Noah came home after hearing the news.
Normally, he entered the house talking.
He would tell me about school, complain about homework, or open the refrigerator before he had even taken off his shoes.
