She was still in occasional contact with Helena.
Their conversations were polite and cautious. They were not a family suddenly restored by a few apologies, and Emma did not pretend otherwise.
Sophie remained undecided about meeting her biological grandmother.
Emma respected that decision.
One afternoon, as they walked home together, Sophie asked the question Emma had been expecting.
“Mum, do you think I’ll ever want to meet them?”
“Perhaps,” Emma replied. “Or perhaps you’ll decide that knowing the truth is enough. Either choice is yours.”
“Would you be upset if I wanted to meet them?”
“No.”
“Would you be upset if I never did?”
Emma stopped walking.
She turned to her daughter and smiled.
“No, sweetheart. I don’t need you to make the same decisions I would make. I just want you to know that you are free to make your own.”
Sophie slipped her arm through her mother’s.
“Then I think I’m going to wait. I have university to worry about first.”
