For a moment, he remembered himself at seven, wearing a Superman costume and believing heroes could fix anything.
He smiled.
Real life was more complicated.
But helping a child solve a problem was still a pretty good way to make the world better.
One winter evening, Caleb received news that Derek Walsh had died.
The former officer had served his sentence years earlier and spent the remainder of his life away from public attention.
The notice appeared in a local newspaper.
It was brief.
It listed surviving relatives and funeral arrangements.
Caleb read it while sitting in his home office.
He did not feel satisfaction.
He did not feel grief.
He felt mostly distant.
For much of his childhood, Walsh had occupied an enormous place in his imagination.
The officer had seemed powerful, frightening, and almost impossible to challenge.
As an adult, Caleb had come to understand him as a man who had made cruel decisions, faced consequences, and eventually died like anyone else.
He called Marcus.
"Dad?"
"Hey, son."
"I saw something today."
"What?"
"Derek Walsh died."
There was a pause.
Marcus exhaled.
"I hadn't heard."
Caleb looked toward the framed Superman costume.
"How do you feel?"
Marcus was quiet for a long moment.
"Older."
Caleb laughed softly.
"That's one answer."
Marcus sighed.
"I don't know, son."
He looked toward the window.
"What happened to him doesn't change what he did. And what he did doesn't need to be the last thing we think about every day."
Caleb nodded.
"Yeah."
Marcus continued.
"I hope his family finds peace."
Caleb looked surprised.
"Really?"
"His children didn't choose what he did."
Caleb considered that.
"That's true."
They talked a little longer.
Then the conversation moved to Lily's school project and a problem with Marcus's kitchen faucet.
When they hung up, Caleb closed the newspaper page.
He did not share it on social media.
He did not write a public statement.
He returned to helping Lily with her science assignment.
The past remained part of his life.
But it no longer demanded every moment of his attention.
On Marcus's eightieth birthday, the family gathered at Caleb's house.
Marcus arrived wearing a blue sweater and carrying a cane he insisted he did not need.
Lily, now a young adult, met him at the door.
"Grandpa!"
He smiled.
"Look at you."
She hugged him carefully.