Audrey’s father did not come out.
That hurt.
She let it.
The next morning he called.
Audrey watched the phone ring twice before answering.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Can I come by?”
She looked at Matt. He nodded only after she did.
“Yes.”
Her father arrived carrying nothing.
Audrey was relieved. Flowers would have made her furious.
They sat at the kitchen table. Matt made coffee, then left the room without disappearing entirely.
Her father stared at his cup.
“Your brother thinks I’m sexist.”
Audrey closed her eyes.
“Is that what you came to talk about?”
“I’m trying to understand what you’re accusing me of.”
“I’m not asking you to accept a label. I’m asking you to look at what you did.”
He frowned.
Audrey listed examples. The questions about whether her career would interfere with marriage. The way he introduced Ben by his former rank but described Audrey as “our daughter who works in the military.” The family events where he asked Ben for service stories and asked Audrey whether Matt minded her schedule. The photographs. The box.
Her father looked increasingly uncomfortable.
“I didn’t realize.”
“I did.”
The sentence stopped him.
Audrey’s voice shook. “That’s the part I need you to understand. You don’t get to make the harm smaller because you weren’t paying attention to it.”
He stared at the table.
“I was proud of you.”
“Then why was it so hard to act like it?”
He did not answer quickly.
For once, Audrey did not help.
