Shortly after his service, his wife reached out, asking to meet.
She arrived with a warmth I immediately noticed soft voice, understanding eyes, and a gift Sam had wanted me to have. We sat together quietly before she revealed what he had kept locked inside all those years. She explained that Sam had loved our son profoundly, and his loss had shaken him deeply. His outward calm wasn’t indifference and it was the only way he could hold himself together without shattering.
