Jacob smiled from ear to ear when he shook the man’s hand on stage. The man then handed him a trophy. <i> "Tell the audience about your book."<br />My little brother confidently walked up to a microphone his height and beamed to the crowd. <i> "I wrote about the person I love the most, my older brother, Noah. We don’t live together so I wrote what I imagine he does when we’re not together."<br />"And what is that?" </i> prodded the stout man.<br /><i> "He’s a superhero who saves people in danger, because he saved me and my brother from dying in a fire a couple of years ago. Noah is better than Batman." </i> The crowd chuckled.<br /><i> "I love you, too, lil’ bro." </i> I couldn’t help it. To see him standing there, still worshipping me like he did when he was five … it was too much.<br />Jacob’s smile reached a whole new level of excitement. <i> "Noah!" </i> He pointed right to me. <i> "That’s Noah. That’s my brother, Noah!" </i> Ignoring his foster parents, Jacob flew off the stage and ran down the middle aisle.<br />Joe lowered his head and Carrie rubbed her eyes. Jacob raced into my arms and the crowd erupted into applause.<br /><i> "I’ve missed you, Noah." </i> Jacob’s voice broke, bringing tears to my eyes. I couldn’t cry. Not in front of Jacob and not in front of Mrs. Collins. I needed to be a man and stay strong.<br /><i> "I’ve missed you, too, bro. I’m so proud of you." </i></i>