Chapter 9 — The First Conversation in Eight Years
Margaret remained beside her chair.
“Thank you for coming.”
Daniel closed the door.
Peter had stayed outside.
This conversation belonged to them.
Daniel sat.
Margaret waited.
Then sat too.
“You read the letter?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want me to explain anything?”
Daniel looked at her.
“I don’t want another version of the apology where you explain so much that nothing is your responsibility anymore.”
Margaret nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
Daniel had expected resistance.
There was none.
He continued.
“Peter approached Oliver.”
Margaret’s expression changed instantly.
“What?”
“He spoke to him in the lobby.”
“He wasn’t supposed to do that.”
“I know.”
“Is Oliver okay?”
“Yes.”
Margaret looked genuinely upset.
“I specifically said no contact with Oliver unless you approved it.”
Daniel studied her.
“Peter admitted it was his decision.”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“That part isn’t yours to apologize for.”
Margaret looked surprised.
Daniel continued.
“You have plenty of your own.”
A faint smile almost appeared on Margaret’s face.
Then disappeared.
“Fair.”
Daniel asked the question he had carried downstairs.
“Why now?”
Margaret thought before answering.
“Because for years I kept telling myself that staying away was respecting your boundary.”
“Wasn’t it?”
“At first.”
She looked down.
“Eventually I think it became convenient.”
Daniel frowned.
Margaret continued.
“If I stayed away forever, I never had to hear you explain how much I hurt you.”
“I could tell myself I was doing exactly what you asked.”
“And I didn’t have to risk you saying you still wanted nothing to do with me.”
Daniel became quiet.
“So what changed?”
Margaret looked toward him.
“Rachel asked me one question.”
“What?”
Margaret repeated it.
“If Daniel never contacts you first, are you really prepared to let the rest of your life be decided by the worst conversation you two ever had?”
Daniel looked away.
Margaret said:
“I realized I wasn’t.”
Then she added:
“But I also knew showing up at your house would prove I had learned nothing.”
That was why she hired Peter.
Why she booked a separate room.
Why she reserved the Cedar Room instead of arranging a surprise.
Why she waited upstairs.
Daniel listened.
Then asked:
“What do you want after tonight?”
Margaret’s answer surprised him more than the apology had.
“I don’t know yet.”
Leave a Reply