I laughed.
“You’re learning.”
By Christmas, Jared and Vanessa were still separated but attending counseling.
He asked whether Vanessa could visit for one hour because she wanted to apologize.
I agreed.
She arrived alone in a modest rental car.
When I opened the door, she didn’t walk inside.
She asked,
“May I come in?”
“Yes.”
She brought a box containing things she had removed from my old guest room.
Photographs.
Thomas’s fountain pen.
My grandmother’s recipe book.
Old jewelry.
Things I thought had disappeared.
Then she admitted something painful.
She had cleared my room before the night she threw me out.
The gym equipment had already been ordered.
My removal had been planned.
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked.
“Because apologizing selectively would be another lie.”
Then Vanessa finally admitted the truth.
She had resented me because Jared depended on me.
Whenever they fought, he came to me.
