Hearing the melody again made my chest hurt.
Caleb’s voice shook during the first verse.
Then it steadied.
I covered my mouth.
The song was touching and emotional.
I could feel my heart breaking just listening to it.
It felt like mourning my husband all over again.
An old wound suddenly ripped
open and bled afresh.
A woman beside me started crying.
Across the aisle, one of the teachers wiped her eyes.
Caleb reached the second verse when the double doors at the back of the gym opened.
Two uniformed police officers walked inside.
Every parent’s head turned.
Mine did too.
I immediately thought something was wrong.
One officer spoke quietly to a teacher standing near the entrance.
The teacher pointed toward the principal, who was standing along the side wall.
The officers started crossing the gym.
Then something strange happened.
They
stopped.
Both of them.
The older officer turned toward the stage so sharply that the younger one nearly walked into him.
