She laughed.
“That sounds like my son.”
I stepped toward the counter.
“He told me to come see you.”
Karen’s smile faded.
“He did?”
“More or less.”
She looked down at her hands.
“I never wanted him to feel that he had to choose between us.”
“He knows that now.”
“I hope so.”
I watched her for a moment.
Then I said the thing I had rehearsed during the entire drive.
“I missed you.”
Her eyes filled.
“I missed you too.”
“I tried to convince myself that staying away was enough.”
“And?”
“It wasn’t.”
She gave a small, sad laugh.
“No. It wasn’t.”
I moved closer.
“Karen, I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep. I can’t guarantee that every day will be easy. I can’t promise people won’t talk. And I can’t promise Daniel will never struggle with this.”
She nodded.
“But I can promise that I won’t hide you. I won’t treat you like a secret. And I won’t ask you to make yourself smaller to make other people comfortable.”
