He’d been holding it against his cane.
He waited until Kaylee stepped back from Travis.
Then he held the rose out. Stem first. To my husband.
Travis looked at it.
He didn’t take it.
He shook his head a little. Like he was telling Dad no. That’s yours. You earned it. You walked the whole way.
My father didn’t lower his arm.
He just kept holding it out. Patient. The same way he used to hold out a bottle to a stubborn calf until it decided on its own.
The gym had gone so quiet, I was close enough to hear what he said.
“I already raised mine, son,” my father said. “This one’s yours.”
Travis took the rose.
My father touched the brim of his seed corn cap to Kaylee. Like a man saying good morning at the co-op.
Then he turned around. He planted the cane. And he started back across that floor by himself.
