Chapter 13 - I FINALLY ASKED EMILY WHAT WE LOSTOne night, Emily and I sat on the porch.
Mom asleep inside.
I asked:
“Are you angry at us?”
She thought.
“At you?”
“At all three.”
“Sometimes.”
Fair.
“What did you lose?”
She looked toward the yard.
“Birthdays.”
That answer hurt more than millions.
“Christmas mornings.”
“Dad teaching me stupid things.”
“Mom being able to call me daughter without whispering.”
Then:
“You guys lost me too.”
Yes.
We had been robbed in both directions.
Not by one villain.
By fear.
Family image.
Shame.
Then later, David’s interference.
I asked:
“Can we fix it?”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“We can build something else.”
That was better.
Not replace thirty-four years.
Create year thirty-five.
May you like
Then thirty-six.
That became our goal.
