I hesitated, throat tight, the words stuck somewhere between my chest and my mouth.
“What, Mom?” I managed, voice cracking just enough that she’d hear it over the airport noise in the background.
She sighed—soft, loving, the kind of sigh that always made me feel small and safe even when everything else was falling apart.
“Don’t worry, baby. We don’t have to discuss that yet. Just… make Mommy proud, okay? Your dad too. Up there.” Her voice softened even more, almost a whisper. “He would have been so proud of you. I know he is.”
The call cut off—her flight boarding, probably.
Screen went black.
I stood in the hallway outside the lecture hall, phone clutched too tight, eyes burning.
Emotional didn’t even cover it.
It hit like a fist to the sternum—memories I’d spent years shovin
