The article went live at 6:02 a.m.
By 6:15, Darrel's phone wouldn't stop ringing.
Calls.
Texts.
Notifications.
Messages from people he hadn't spoken to in years.
The article sat open on his laptop.
A headline.
A photograph.
His name.
His life.
His past.
Everything laid out for strangers to dissect.
Darrel stared at the screen.
Then closed the laptop.
He couldn't look at it anymore.
Across the room, Cliff babbled happily from his playpen, completely unaware that the world had suddenly become much more complicated.
Darrel crossed the room and scooped him up.
"At least one of us is having a good day."
Cliff laughed.
The sound helped.
A little.
His phone rang again.
This time he answered.
"Mabel."
"Are you okay?" she asked immediately.
Darrel smiled despite himself.
