The tears came to the back of my throat and I stopped them there.
"Go finish your pudding, sweetheart."
My son went. He always trusted me. Even now, even in a room full of things he did not understand yet, he trusted me and picked up his spoon and went, and I watched him go and felt the full weight of everything I had been carrying for four years settle onto my shoulders all at once.
It was something I did not have a name for yet.
And somehow that was worse than all the rest of it.
I stood up. I faced Lucas.
"You took my son." I heard the shake in my voice and I could not get it out. "You had someone kidnapped my son and you sat here and exercising your authority on my son and ..." my words trailed off
"He has been here for thirty minutes." His voice was even. Steady. Which made me
