“And did that work?”
Cole almost laughed.
“No.”
Raymond remained quiet.
After a moment, he said, “Your wife was wrong to betray you. But you don’t have to pretend you were never hurting just because she didn’t understand it.”
Cole looked up.
For the first time that evening, he felt someone had seen the whole picture without trying to turn him into either a hero or a failure.
Then the office door opened.
Derek stood in the doorway.
His face was tense.
“What’s going on in here?”
Raymond turned.
“An adult conversation.”
Derek ignored him and looked at Cole.
“So you were in the military. Big deal.”
Cole said nothing.
Derek crossed his arms.
“Doesn’t change the fact that you quit.”
“No,” Cole replied. “It doesn’t.”
That answer seemed to confuse him more than an argument would have.
“You’re not going to deny it?”
“I stopped because my knee was getting worse. I wasn’t willing to make a temporary fight into a permanent injury.”
