"Unfortunately."
Bradley smiled.
"Accountability without reform becomes a spectacle. Reform without accountability becomes a memo. You need both."
The mayor visited the apartment more often after that first Friday. At first every visit felt formal. He brought dessert. Dorothy criticized the dessert.
He brought flowers. Dorothy told him flowers did not substitute for showing up. He stopped bringing things and started arriving early enough to help set the table. That worked better.
Marcus asked him questions Angela might have asked if she were alive.
"Did you ever apologize to Mom?"
"Not properly."
"Did she forgive you?"
"I don't know."
"Does that bother you?"
"Every day."
Marcus considered this.
"Good."
Bradley laughed.
"You really are her son."
The relationship grew without anyone declaring it repaired. One Saturday Bradley drove Marcus to robotics practice because David had a base commitment and Dorothy had a doctor's appointment. He arrived in an official car with a driver. Marcus refused to get in.
"Everybody will stare."
Bradley looked at the car.
"Fair."
He dismissed the driver, borrowed David's old sedan, and spent ten minutes figuring out how to move the seat.
"You're too tall," Marcus said.
"Your father bought a ridiculous car."
"He says it's practical."
"Your father once packed seven people into a two-door Honda. His definition of practical is compromised."
At robotics practice, Bradley sat in the back of the workshop without introducing himself as mayor. Marcus's team was building a machine for a regional competition: a compact robot designed to collect foam blocks and stack them within a marked zone. Marcus handled sensor programming with a girl named Priya Shah. Bradley watched for nearly two hours.
On the drive home, he said, "You really like that."
"More than law."
"I never said you had to choose."
Marcus glanced over.
"You said lawyers build cases."
"Engineers build systems. We need people who understand both."
"Dad says I don't have to plan college at twelve."
"Your father is correct. Please never tell him I said that."
Marcus smiled. The letter from Patterson arrived three days after her termination was announced. It came through her attorney to district counsel, who asked whether Marcus wanted to receive it. David left the choice entirely to him.
"You can read it."
"Okay."
"You can throw it away."
"Okay."
"You can wait."
Marcus looked at the sealed envelope.