When Wilson drove to the Harper home to tell them,
Patricia opened the door before he knocked. She saw his face and knew.
“Ryan?” she whispered. Wilson could only nod.
Patricia sank into a chair.
“Trevor sat in my kitchen,” she said, her voice breaking.
“He held my hand. He cried with me. And all that time…”
She couldn’t finish. A day of mourning was declared in Jasper.
A few weeks later, in Ward 4, Camila lay in labor.
Her mother held one hand. Dr. Miller held the other.
“Ryan would be so proud of you,” Patricia whispered through tears.
Camila gave a weak smile. “He’s here,” she breathed. “I can feel him.”
In November of 2010, Ryan Jr.
came into the world, with his father’s eyes and his father’s calm.
When the nurse placed him in Camila’s arms,
she wept for the first time since the bunker. Not from fear.
