Marcus shook his head.
“Rachel, that’s exactly why we’re here. Nobody is accusing him of anything.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“Then what is going on?”
“Would you both come over for breakfast?” he asked. “Karen and Sophie are waiting. There’s something we want Caleb to see.”
I glanced down at my son. He looked equally bewildered.
“We’ll come,” I said, “but we’re going together.”
A short drive later, we arrived at Marcus and Karen’s house. The officers came along as friends and colleagues, not to conduct an investigation. Marcus had asked members of his shift to join him in thanking Caleb, and they had agreed.
Inside, the kitchen table was set with pancakes, scrambled eggs, sliced fruit, and a carafe of coffee. Sophie sat nearby, smiling in her chair. Her parents had been working with the equipment service to make sure the replacement arrangements were appropriate for her needs.
Then Caleb saw the guitar case leaning against the wall by the coat rack.
He stopped in the doorway.
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It was a new case, clean and sturdy, with a small card resting on top.
“What’s that?” he asked.
Marcus motioned him closer.
“Yesterday, when I heard what you had done, I told the people on my shift about it. I told them how you had noticed a problem that the rest of us hadn’t fully understood, and how you gave up something important to you because you wanted to help.”
Caleb’s cheeks reddened.
“I didn’t do anything special.”
Marcus shook his head. “You saw someone struggling, and you chose to do something about it. That matters.”
He lifted the card from the case.
“Everyone who wanted to contribute chipped in. We raised enough to replace your guitar.”
Caleb stared at him.
“All of you?”
“Everyone who took part,” Officer Turner said. “We picked it out with help from someone who knows instruments. We wanted it to be something you’d enjoy playing.”
For several seconds, Caleb didn’t move. Then he looked at me, as if he needed confirmation that he wasn’t misunderstanding.
I smiled and nodded.
He opened the case carefully. Inside lay a beautiful guitar, chosen with his interests in mind. He ran his fingers lightly over the edge of the body, then looked up at Marcus.
“You didn’t have to do this.”
Marcus pulled out a chair and sat down.
“I know. We wanted to.”
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