Raindrops splashed against Billy’s face and hair, washing away his tears and cooling his red eyes. “Time to face this,” he thought as he rose from the ground. “Pete wouldn’t have wanted to see me crying over him, damn it!” He walked to his car and drove home to change into his dress uniform.

When he arrived at the funeral home, he parked and stared down the street. He began to cry again as the hearse carrying the body of his brother came to a stop. He watched as his father walked up to greet the driver. Through the car windshield, he could see him joke with the driver and shake his hand. Billy forced open the rusty car door, pulled on his overcoat, and walked toward them.

Seeing Billy in his uniform, an expression of intense grief swept over his father’s face. “I’m losing it, Billy,” he said between tears. “You look too much like Petey right now and I just can’t look at you.”

Billy felt a surge of pride and grief as he looked into his father’s eyes. He embraced him and fought back his own tears.