Then Noah walked straight past Adrian.
Adrian had stepped toward the aisle.
Maybe instinct.
Maybe he thought Noah was coming to him.
He wasn’t.
Noah came to me.
He held out the MVP trophy.
“This belongs to you.”
I shook my head immediately.
“Noah.”
“Yes.”
“You earned it.”
“So did you.”
He pushed it into my hands.
Then hugged me.
I held the trophy in one hand and my son in the other.
“Dad,” he whispered.
“I needed him to hear it.”
I could not speak.
So I just held him tighter.
When I finally looked up, Adrian was gone.
Not dramatically.
No confrontation.
No shouting.
His seat was empty.
He had walked out quietly.
Part of me thought:
Good.
Another part felt something more complicated.
