One photograph of Aaron at forty-one.
One photograph of him as a baby from Elaine Cole’s album.
And a note he gave me on his forty-second birthday.
It says:
Margaret,
I had parents who raised me.
Now I also know the mother who lost me.
I don’t know exactly what our relationship is supposed to look like.
Maybe we don’t need to decide all at once.
Let’s just keep showing up.
Aaron.
PART 53 — SHOWING UP
That became our rule.
No forced titles.
No pretending.
No erasing Elaine and Thomas.
No pretending Natalie and Aaron’s marriage had not mattered.
No making Christopher compete for my attention.
No turning Helen into the sole villain for staying silent.
No turning my mother into a saint because she was dead.
Just truth.
And showing up.
PART 54 — THE WATER
At the lake house, I walked down the dock.
My scar was visible.
