Normally, the idea of seeing my Tyler for real would have been just wonderful. I had dreams about bringing him home and just sitting on the couch and watching him while he sat. But this time, I mean, I knew why they were doing it. A little mercy for a mother who was about to lose her only child. That was the long and the short of it. I can't describe how much I needed the pity those guards showed me, or how terrible that pity made me feel.

Still, the last time we'd talked on the phone, Tyler'd made me promise that when I saw him the next time...