My heart tightened.
“Is Kelly okay?”
“He is alive and well. But Nonye has given birth.”
I sat down.
“Is the baby okay?”
“Yes, thank God. A healthy little boy.”
I felt relief.
Whatever had happened between Nonye and me, I had never wished harm on her child.
Mama Grace continued.
“Kelly went to the hospital. He was there when the baby was born.”
I was quiet.
Then she said something I hadn’t expected.
“He told the family that he is sorry for everything he did to you.”
I closed my eyes.
I had once imagined that if Kelly ever apologized sincerely, all the pain would disappear.
But it didn’t.
His apology could not return the years I had spent feeling ashamed of my body. It could not erase the slap, restore the trust he had destroyed, or undo the humiliation of discovering that he had discussed my deepest fears with another woman.
