Chapter 24: The Middle Seat

The closing ceremony was on a warm Sunday night, and the stadium was full to the roof.

We walked up the steps to the last row with four paper tickets in Nico's hand.

My brother went first, taking the stairs two at a time, with a flag painted on his cheek.

"Seats thirteen to sixteen," Nico said at the top. "Stand back. I will inspect them."

He got down on one knee in the aisle and ran his thumb along the cushion of the middle seat.

He pressed it with his palm.

He held a pocket ruler against the seam.

"Whole," he announced. "Entirely whole. No cuts, no foam."

"You're ridiculous," I said.

"I am thorough."

Gabriel laughed, and the laugh came from deep in his chest.

It was the first time I had heard him laugh like that since May.

"Mom's in Florida," my brother said, climbing into the aisle seat. "I'll call her when she's earned it."

"That's fair," I said.

My start date at the firm stood, and nobody in that row needed to hear more about her.

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