“It will be scary. But I know you can do it. Know that I'll be with you, if there's any way that I can manage it. And know that I have always -and will, for always- love you.”

“You said you didn’t want to waste your time on people who aren’t going to matter,” I said, and he nodded. “But how do you know they’re not going to matter? Unless you give it a shot?”

“Tomorrow will be better.”“But what if it’s not?” I asked.“Then you say it again tomorrow. Because it might be. You never know, right? At some point, tomorrow will be better.”

“...You can do something extraordinary, and something that a lot of people can't do. And if you have the opportunity to work on your gifts, it seems like a crime not to. I mean, it's just weakness to quit because something becomes too hard...”

“Daddy," I whispered, feeling my own breath hitch in my throat. "I love you."Just when I was sure he was asleep, the one corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. "I knew that," he murmured. "Always knew that.”

“I wasn't sure what would happen with us. I knew that there were no guarantees. Terrible things happened when you were least expecting them, on sunny Saturday mornings, and the consequences just had to be lived with, every day. But it seemed that wonderful things could happen too. You could be forced to take a trip, not knowing who you would meet. Not knowing that it would change your life.”

“You know what my grandma used to say?”“There’s no place like home?” I asked, trying again for a smile, this one less trembly than before.“No,” he said, still looking serious, still holding on to his end of the CD. “Tomorrow will be better.”“But what if it’s not?” I asked.Walcott smiled and let go of the CD. “Then you say it again tomorrow. Because it might be. Younever know, right? At some point, tomorrow will be better.”