Kendrick
I stood in the center of my study, the phone still warm in my hand, the call to Kimberly’s parents finally ended.
My fingers hovered over the screen for a long time afterward, almost as if some part of me didn’t want to let go of the moment just yet. It had taken everything in me to speak to them calmly, respectfully—to apologize, not just as a formality, but as a man who finally understood the weight of the damage he’d done.
Their voices had been cautious at first. Hesitant. Cold. But when I said I wanted to surprise Kimberly for her birthday—that I wanted them there because she missed them, and because she deserved to feel the warmth of her family—they agreed, albeit with conditions. They wanted to see her face-to-face. They wanted reassurance that she was truly happy.
Tha
