“I know, sweetheart. You know. But they don’t.”
The next Saturday, Bear expected trouble. Maybe the mother would have heard about the police incident and canceled visitation. Maybe the restaurant would find some excuse to refuse service.
Veterans had come from all over town. The old man from the week before had spread the word. There were Vietnam vets, Gulf War vets, Iraq and Afghanistan vets, all there to support one of their own. Many wore their own motorcycle vests, their patches telling stories of service and sacrifice.
When Lily arrived, instead of stares of suspicion, she was greeted with smiles. The veterans had pooled money to buy her a kids’ meal and a toy. The teenage cashier had drawn her a picture. The manager personally delivered their food and apologized again.
“Uncle Bear,” Lily whispered. “Why is everyone being so nice?”
“Because they understand now,” he said. “Sometimes people need help seeing past the outside to what’s inside.”
An older woman approached their table. She’d been one of the complainers, Bear recognized her.
“I owe you an apology,” she said. “My son came home from Iraq different. Angry. Scary-looking with his tattoos and his motorcycle. I pushed him away because I was frightened. He died alone, overdosed. I’ve been angry at men who look like him ever since. But watching you with this little girl… I see my son. How he was before the war broke him. How he could have been if I’d been brave enough to love him through his pain.”
She was crying now. Lily stood up and hugged the stranger, because that’s what kind of child Bear and her father were raising her to be – someone who comforted people in pain.
“Your son was a hero,” Lily told the woman solemnly. “Like my daddy. Like Uncle Bear. Heroes just sometimes need help remembering they’re heroes.”
Bear’s phone buzzed. A text from Lily’s father, sent through the prison email system:
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