"Not everything."
"What do you mean?"
"I lost some things along the way."
Emily looked at him.
"Like what?"
He was quiet for a moment.
"Your childhood."
She looked down.
Bear continued.
"I kept thinking about all the things I missed. Your graduation. Your wedding. Lucy being born. I thought about what I would have said if I had been there."
He rubbed his hands together.
"But I realized something."
"What?"
"I can't spend the rest of my life mourning the days I missed and forget to enjoy the days I still have."
Emily smiled faintly.
"That's actually very wise."
"Don't tell Marcus. He'll never let me hear the end of it."
She laughed.
Then Bear stood and walked toward a drawer.
He returned carrying a small envelope.
"I've been meaning to give you this."
Emily looked at it.
"What's inside?"
"Something I wrote a long time ago."
She opened it.
Inside was a letter.
The handwriting was uneven, and the paper had been folded many times.
She began reading.
Emily,
I don't know if you'll ever read this.
I've started writing it more times than I can count.
I want to tell you that I miss you, but those words feel too small.
I miss your laugh in the kitchen. I miss the way you used to steal the remote control. I miss the sound of your footsteps coming down the hallway.
I miss being the person you called when something went wrong.
But most of all, I miss being your father.
I thought I was protecting you when I told you to leave. I thought I knew what was best. I was so certain that I was right that I never stopped to consider how much I was hurting you.
If I could go back, I would open the door and ask you to stay.
I would tell you that we could disagree without losing each other.
I would tell you that no argument, no mistake, and no distance could ever make me stop loving you.
I am sorry.
Love,
Dad.
Emily could no longer hold back her tears.
She folded the letter and placed it against her chest.
"How long have you had this?"
"About eight years."
"Why didn't you send it?"
Bear looked down.
"I was afraid you'd send it back."
Emily stared at him.
Then she stood and walked toward him.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
Bear held her tightly.
"I'm sorry too," she whispered.
He closed his eyes.
For years, both of them had waited for the other person to make the first move.
They had allowed pride to turn a temporary argument into a decade of silence.
Now they understood that neither of them had won.
They had both lost time.
And time was the one thing they could never recover.
Chapter 13: The Promise at the Forest Trail
Six months after the incident, Bear returned to the forest road.
This time, he was not alone.
Emily sat beside him in his pickup truck, and Lucy was in the back seat wearing her pink helmet.
They parked near the trail where they had first met.
The trees looked the same.
The dirt path was still narrow.
The fallen leaves had changed with the season.
Bear stepped out and looked toward the place where he had found the ring.
Emily approached.
"Are you thinking about that day?"
He nodded.
"I've thought about it every day."
Lucy ran toward them.
"Grandpa Bear! Is this where you found Mommy?"
"That's right."
She looked around.
"And my ring?"
Bear smiled.
"Right over there."
Lucy took Emily's hand.
"Can we see?"
They walked a short distance along the path.
Bear pointed toward the muddy section.
"Somewhere around here."
Lucy looked down.
"That's where you found the silver ring?"
"Yes."
She reached into her pocket.
Then she brought out a small object.
It was the same silver ring, now cleaned and polished.
Emily had asked a jeweler to restore it.
Lucy held it carefully.
"Mommy says this ring helped us find Grandpa."
Emily smiled.
"It did."
Bear looked at the little girl.
"Actually, sweetheart, I think you found me."
Lucy frowned.
"What do you mean?"
He knelt.
"You were brave enough to ask for help. If you hadn't spoken to me, I might have kept riding down that road."
Lucy thought about it.
Then she smiled.
"So I found you?"
"Yes."
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I like that."
Bear hugged her.
Emily stood beside them, watching.
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees.
For a moment, Bear remembered the day he had first heard Lucy crying.
He remembered the fear in her eyes.
He remembered the silver ring in the mud.
He remembered recognizing the initials.
And he remembered seeing Emily's face after more than ten years apart.
He looked at his daughter.
"Do you ever think about what would have happened if I hadn't stopped?"
Emily nodded.
"Sometimes."
"What do you think?"
"I think I would have found another way to get help."
She paused.
"But I also think I might have spent a lot longer wondering whether I'd ever see you again."
Bear looked down.