“You told me your savings covered those,” I said.
“She told me hers did.”
“Did you ask?”
“No.”
I pressed my fingertips against my forehead.
He had wanted the benefits of not knowing. Now he was bringing me the bill.
Ruth explained that she would preserve the records, notify the buyer that I had authorized nothing, and help me make a report. The forged authorization could not be treated as a family disagreement simply because the people involved had shared a wedding cake.
Daniel leaned forward.
“Whatever you decide, I’ll give them everything.”
“You understand that includes your messages?”
“Yes.”
“And you won’t ask me to protect you from them?”
He looked at the pages.
“No.”
For several seconds I could hear the office clock advancing.
I had protected him from hot stoves, deep water, a father’s absence after a marriage that had ended long ago. I had mistaken protection for a duty without an expiration date.
Now protecting him would mean helping him remain the man who had written those messages.
“Make the report,” I told Ruth.
Daniel lowered his head.
I did not reach across the desk.
Vanessa asked for a meeting that afternoon. Ruth agreed only after arranging to have the buyer’s records available and making clear that no one would sign anything.
I almost refused to attend.
Then I thought of the chair beside the garbage, and all the times I had left a room so other people could avoid being uncomfortable.
“I’ll come,” I said.
This time, I wanted to hear what she said when I stayed.
CHAPTER 4 – No More Quiet
Vanessa arrived without her ring.
She wore a cream jacket and carried a folder of her own. For a moment, the sight of her reminded me of the wedding envelope.
She sat beside Daniel.
He moved his chair several inches away.
