She turned to her father.
“We can talk later if you want to actually talk.”
Then she picked up the box herself and walked outside.
Ben followed after a minute. Matt gave her longer.
Audrey stood on the back steps with the box in both hands.
“I’m sorry,” Ben said.
“For what?”
“For doing that in front of everyone.”
Audrey looked at him.
“I’m not.”
He sat beside her.
“I should’ve said something years ago.”
“You were his favorite. That doesn’t mean you created it.”
“No. But I liked it.”
The honesty surprised her.
Ben rubbed his palms together. “After I came home, I didn’t know what I was supposed to be. Dad talked about my service like it explained me. I let him. Then when he compared you to me, part of me hated it and part of me liked being the standard.”
Audrey sat with that.
“Thank you for saying it.”
“It doesn’t make it better.”
“No.”
He looked at the box.
“What are you going to do with those?”
Audrey turned it over in her hands.
“I don’t know.”
Matt came outside carrying her coat.
“It’s cold,” he said.
Audrey laughed softly. “You waited for the practical entrance.”
“It’s my specialty.”
He sat on her other side.
The three of them stayed there until voices inside returned to normal volume.
