My dad told us he was a mid-level manager at a parts distributor

watching a dream turn into a nightmare. Then she pulls something out of her purse.

It’s a photo. Me and Dad on my tenth birthday. I’m holding a rocket launcher toy. He’s holding the real thing, cropped just enough that no one ever noticed.

“I thought it was a joke,” she murmurs. “He said it was a prop from work.”

We pack what we can and leave that night.continue reading …