~CELINE~

Getting Caesar ready that morning felt like a small slice of normalcy after the chaos in my head.

Today was my day off, and I had planned everything perfectly, ice cream at the little parlor downtown, a movie at the cheap theater, and maybe some thrift shopping to find Caesar a few new clothes.

He was growing so fast that I could barely keep up.

"Mama, can we get chocolate ice cream?" Caesar asked as I combed his curly hair, his big blue eyes bright with excitement.

"Of course, ...