---- Sometimes he'd bring food he'd made, other times he'd just stand quietly at the school gate, watching me. The kids started to get scared of the "strange man." The parents started to whisper. A week later, I finally walked over to him. "You're upsetting my students." "Sarah, please forgive me." He dropped to his knees, right there in front of everyone. "I know I don't deserve it, but please, just give me a chance..." "Tyler was asking for you right before he died," I said, my voice flat. His whole body jerked. "What did you say?" "He had a really high fever. We were outside the ER, and he asked me, 'Mommy, when is Daddy coming?'" "I told him Daddy was busy saving people's lives." "He said, 'Daddy's a hero. I'm proud of him.' Right ---- before he stopped breathing, he was crying, holding my hand, begging me not to blame you. He said he loved you." "He was sticking up for you, right up until the end." Ethan just collapsed, sobbing on the ground. "And you..." I looked down at him. "You were at someone else's daughter's birthday party." I turned and walked back into the school. "Don't come back. If you do, I'll call the police." He just stayed there, crouched by the school gate, crying like a lost little boy. But my heart was dead. I wasn't going to feel sorry for him. Not anymore.