Why now? But a desperate, foolish part of me—the part that will always be his mother—whispered, Maybe he’s changed.

Two days later, I stood on a pier in Annapolis, clutching a scarf against the wind. The cruise ship was modest, a local line, not the floating cities I’d seen on television. And there he was, waiting with the same easy smile I hadn’t seen since his wedding day.Beside him stood his wife, Lyanna, polished and poised as ever. She gave me a half-hug, the kind reserved for distant relatives and polite acquaintances.