I felt something inside me go very still.
“Thank you for finally telling me.”
“That does not mean you forgive me.”
“No. It means I know what happened.”
He nodded.
Then he noticed the folder at the far end of the counter.
“What is that?”
I brought it to the table.
“Thirty-three thousand four hundred dollars.”
His face changed.
I opened it and let him read.
Page after page.
He did not argue with the numbers. He remembered most of them.
At one receipt he whispered, “I forgot about this.”
“I didn’t.”
At another he said, “I thought Lena paid that.”
“I paid Lena, and she paid it.”
He leaned back.
“Do you want me to repay all of this?”
I thought carefully before answering.
“Some of it was clearly given as a gift. Some of it you promised to repay and did not. We can separate those. But the number is not why I showed you.”
“Then why?”
“Because I need you to understand the pattern. Every time you and Lena had a problem, I stepped in. Then when the wedding came, you made a list of people you needed there, and somehow the person you relied on over and over was optional.”
He covered his eyes.
“I am sorry.”
I believed him.
That did not repair it.
“What are you going to do now?” I asked.
He looked confused.
“About us. About your marriage. About your bills. Pick one.”
