Dante chews on his lower lip and looks up at me. His chin dimples. “Mama.”
I kneel next to Mikhail and grab Dante’s other hand. I curl his fingers against my cheek. “I’m okay, baby. I’m right here.”
“The dinosaur chased you and I didn’t run after you. I was too scared. I—” He devolves into another round of tears.
“You couldn’t save the person you love, either,” Mikhail finishes. He pats his leg. “But that was just in a dream. In real life, you’re brave.”
“No, I’m scared,” Dante argues.
“Of course you are. You have to be scared to be brave.”
Dante looks at me, eyebrows raised like, This guy is crazy, right? But I stay quiet. I want to hear where Mikhail is going with this.
“If you aren’t scared, then fighting a dinosaur isn’t brave. It’s just something you’re doing. Just another norm
