Hope’s story got passed on to Lieutenant-Colonel Davis, who mentioned it to his caregiver when they were driving home that night, early, of course, as his arthritis had started to flair. The good lieutenant knew what it was to suffer, and his caregiver, Simon Gill, remembered that after they’d talked about it, they both kind of paused and thought about what life was going to be like for a kid who would end up enduring that kind of pain for the rest of his life. Simon had told Bryson that Lieutenant-Colonel Davis had said, “Let’s hope God gives him more graces than he gave me, hmm?” and Simon had looked up into the rear view mirror and caught Davis’ gaze with a grin, responding, “The wee thing will probably deserve more graces than you, won’t he?” They’d laughed. They’d had s*x when they go
