Chapter 29 - The Name On The Wall
Five years after the gala, the foundation opened a new building.
The lobby carried a simple inscription:
THE ARTHUR VANCE VETERANS FOUNDATION
Beneath it were the names of hundreds of veterans and families who had received assistance.
My father's name was only one among many.
I stood there with Caleb.
“You know,” he said, “I think he'd like that.”
“What?”
“That his name isn't the biggest one.”
I smiled.
“I think you're right.”
A young cadet approached me.
“Captain Miller?”
“Yes?”
“I wanted to thank you.”
“For what?”
“My mother received medical assistance through the foundation.”
I smiled.
“Then thank the people who built the program.”
She shook her head.
“My mother said you started it.”
I looked at the wall.
“No.”
I touched the inscription.
“My father started something.”
I looked at her.
“We just learned how to finish it.”
That night, Caleb and I walked through the empty lobby.
I stopped beneath my father's name.
“I used to think inheritance meant receiving what someone left behind.”
Caleb took my hand.
“And now?”
I looked around.
May you like
“Now I think it means deciding what deserves to continue.”
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