Tommy looks over his shoulder at the bikers, then back at her. “My daddy said I should smile like I’ve got the whole world behind me.”
She smiles through her tears. “It looks like you do.”
And just like that, my heart—cracked and broken for months—starts to knit itself back together.
I walk over to Bear as the bikers start dispersing, some lighting up cigarettes, others checking their bikes.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” I say, my voice shaking. “This… this meant everything.”
Bear looks at me, his own eyes damp now. “You don’t have to thank us. Jim was our brother. Tommy’s one of us now.”
He reaches into his vest pocket and pulls out a patch identical to the one they gave Tommy. He presses it into my hand.
“For you. So you remember—anytime, anywhere, we’ve got you.”
I nod, clutching the patch like it’s a lifeline.
Tommy comes running back out the door with a teacher behind him. “Mom! I forgot my backpack!”
I nod, my throat too tight to speak.
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