“What do you mean?”

“He told me something similar.” Charlie smiled. “He said if one child had somebody willing to show up every Thursday, maybe waiting wouldn’t feel quite so lonely.”

I blinked quickly against tears.

I had forgotten saying those words years ago.

Julian had not.

Charlie checked his watch.

“I should get going.”

“Thank you.”

“No.” He smiled. “Thank your husband.”

After he drove away, I stayed on the porch for several minutes.

Julian’s recovered phone rested in one hand.

The green dinosaur sat in the other.

I looked down at the paper crown.

KING DINOSAUR.

How many Thursdays had my husband quietly spent becoming someone a frightened child could rely on?

I picked up my phone and messaged him.

We need to talk when you get home.

He replied almost immediately.

Everything okay, Dani?

I looked at the dinosaur.

Come home safely. We’ll talk then.

—

Three hours later, I heard Julian’s key in the front door.

“Dani?”

His voice carried the same warmth it always had.

Then he saw the kitchen table.

His recovered phone.

The little green dinosaur.

The paper crown.

For the first time since I had known him, Julian looked completely speechless.

“I…”

He briefly closed his eyes.

“Charlie found your phone.” I lifted the crown. “He found this too.”

Julian rubbed the back of his neck.

“I was hoping you’d never have to find out like this.”

I walked toward him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

He looked at me for a long moment.