Melody
I didn’t realize how quiet the restaurant had become until the scrape of a chair echoed somewhere behind me and broke the fragile bubble we were in. The warmth of Mark’s hands around mine was still anchoring me, keeping me present, keeping me from drifting back into the places my mind liked to go when things got too heavy.
“Mark,” I said again, softer this time. Saying his name felt easier now, like it had found a place to land. “There’s something else.”
He didn’t rush me. He never did. He just waited.
“Do you… do you want to know his full name?” I asked. “The one I picked for him.”
His thumb brushed lightly against the back of my hand, grounding, steady. “I’d really like that,” he said.
I swallowed, emotion rising again, but I didn’t stop it this time.
“His name is Caelum Ja
