I had seen death before but not like that. The subway car jiggled as it ran over the points giving me my cue. I took my son's arm and edging between the other passengers I led him to the door. Standing behind him, I placed my hands on his shoulders and he leaned back slightly, pressing the back of his head into my stomach. I felt no premonition but I needed to touch him then, to feel his flesh, warm against mine. His reflection in the door window smiled at me but for some reason I did not smile back. I simply squeezed his shoulder. I watched as my son pushed his tongue through the gap where his tooth had been, the tooth that he had lost the day before. My son was growing up and something about that idea made me proud as I imagined the man he would grow into, but there was another part of...

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