Part Seven: The Gymnasium
The breakfast was in the main gymnasium.
Hampton Roads Prep has a beautiful gym. Polished hardwood floors. Banners hanging from the rafters for every state championship since 1952. Big windows along one wall, looking out on the
lawn and the magnolia tree.
They’d set up round tables. Thirty of them. White linen tablecloths. Little vases of white roses in the middle of each one. Real silverware. Real coffee cups.
At the front of the room, they’d built a temporary stage. A wooden podium with the academy crest on it. Behind the podium, a massive American flag. Twenty feet wide. Hung from the rafters.
We walked through the double doors together at 7:25.
Caleb was holding my hand.
I need you to understand something.
Caleb is nine. He hasn’t held my hand in public since he was six. Not crossing the street. Not in the parking lot at the grocery store. Not at his own birthday party.
