Then he took the dog tag gently between his thumb and finger and told his son that he had done his job. He told him he had protected his mom and the house for eleven months, and for a long time after that, longer than anyone should have had to. He told him he had done it bravely, and honestly, and better than any soldier Daniel had ever served with. He told him that his mission was complete.
He told him he was relieved.
He told him that was what they said in the Army when a soldier had stood his post long enough and somebody came to take over. Relieved. It didn't mean he had done anything wrong. It meant he had done everything right, and now he could rest. He told him that from now on, protecting the house was the grown-ups' job, Mom's and Dad's, both of them, together, even in two houses. He told him that Owen's only job, his only mission, starting right now, was to be eight.