Chapter 8 - A Visit from the Past
In August, a formal letter arrived in the mail. It wasn't from Margaret; it was from a legal mediator representing her estate.
Margaret was moving out of state to live in an assisted-living facility near her sister—a woman who had distanced herself from Margaret decades ago. Enclosed with the legal notification was a small, unsealed envelope addressed simply: To Daniel and Clara.
Daniel stared at the envelope on the kitchen island for a long time before opening it. I stood beside him, watching.
Inside was a single handwritten note on plain paper, written in Margaret’s familiar, sharp cursive:
Daniel, By the time you read this, I will be gone. You think I was a monster who tried to destroy your happiness. Perhaps I was. But every cruel thing I did, I did out of a terrified obsession with keeping our world from falling apart the way mine did twenty-five years ago. I thought if I could control the truth, the truth wouldn't destroy us. I was wrong. I destroyed everything myself. Take care of Lily. She deserved a better grandmother than the one she got. And Clara... I am sorry. — Margaret.
Daniel folded the letter slowly and slipped it back into the envelope. He didn't look angry. He just looked profoundly tired.
"Is there any remorse in there?" I asked gently.
"A little," Daniel said, placing the letter into the recycling bin. "Too little, too late. But it’s the closest thing to an apology we're ever going to get from her."
May you like
He wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his face in my neck. "Let's burn it. Or throw it out with the trash. I don't want her words in our house anymore."
I nodded, kissing his cheek. We took the entire recycling bin out to the curb that very afternoon, watching the trash truck pick it up and carry it away.
