“You sound like a lawyer.”
Jessica opened the bottle.
“That’s insulting.”
Patricia laughed.
For the first time all morning, Jessica laughed too.
The sound surprised her.
Then stopped almost immediately.
The weight returned.
Patricia noticed.
“Daniel Ruiz?”
Jessica looked at her.
“You heard his name.”
“I felt your hand.”
Jessica looked down.
“Yes.”
“And Matthew Keene?”
“Yes.”
Patricia waited.
Jessica did not speak.
Her mother did not force her.
That restraint mattered.
After several seconds, Jessica said, “They were good men.”
“I’m sure.”
“They should be here.”
Patricia’s eyes filled again.
“Yes.”
Jessica swallowed.
“That’s why Crawford made me so angry.”
“Because he disrupted the ceremony?”
“Partly.”
She looked across the grass.
“Because he acted like the uniform belonged to him.”
Patricia listened.
Jessica’s voice stayed quiet.
“It doesn’t belong to any one person.”
She looked at the memorial.
“People died wearing it.”
Her mother nodded.
