“You didn’t seem angry on the phone.”
“I was.”
Rebecca looked at the folder.
“You were hurt.”
“Yes.”
She nodded slowly.
For the first time since I arrived, something in her expression changed.
The defensiveness faded.
“I’m sorry about Hawaii.”
Daniel glanced toward her.
Rebecca continued.
“Not because you moved out. Not because of the loan. I’m sorry because we should have asked you.”
I had imagined an apology many times over the previous days.
In all of them, I felt immediate relief.
Reality was different.
“I appreciate that.”
She looked disappointed.
Perhaps she had expected forgiveness to arrive faster.
Perhaps I had too.
Daniel said, “I’m sorry too.”
“I know.”
“No, Mom. I mean it.”
“I believe you.”
“Then why does it feel like you’re still angry?”
“Because an apology does not erase four years in ten seconds.”
He looked down.
The room became quiet.
Finally Rebecca spoke.
“You heard me.”
I looked at her.
“On the patio.”
For one moment, none of us moved.
Daniel turned toward his wife.
“What?”
Rebecca’s face had gone pale.
“She heard me talking to Claire.”
My heart beat faster.
Daniel looked between us.
“What did you say?”
