The last time I heard Bobby’s voice was on the phone.

He called me about the logo I was working on for him. My brother was planning on opening up his own hardscaping business this spring. He wanted the “C” in Caldwell just right.

We talked for a few minutes about the logo and then spent the next half an hour talking about his boys. He had just won custody after a 5 year battle. He told me Jacob, his middle son, was a lot like him when he was a teenager. Jacob was struggling but Bobby knew he’d be ok. They were planning on enrolling Jacob in a drawing class in the fall. Bobby was always good at drawing. He actually drew the logo.

I told him I was so proud of him and what a wonderful father he was. He told me he loved me and I said I’d get the logo to him soon. I didn’t get a chance to work on the logo until a few weeks later on a Tuesday morning. I sent it to him and he texted me at 1:57pm:

YES! Nailed it

I texted back:

Great! I’ll get you the rest of the files soon…

To this he replied with a thumbs up emoji.

That evening around 6pm he was shot and killed. I never got him those files. He’ll never get to make those t-shirts and business cards and a magnet for his truck. The many people responsible for murdering my brother stole so much. They stole more than his life, they stole his future, his dreams. But they couldn’t steal everything.

They can’t steal that phone call- the last chance Bobby and I got to tell each other I love you. They can’t steal that thumbs up Bobby gave me. It goes with me wherever I go, like the twinkle in Bobby’s eye, hinting that all of life is love- even work. I thought Bobby and I were doing business together but really we were doing so much more…