Mark looked almost ill.
“What else?”
“He says leaving didn’t make him freer. It just made Mom handle everything alone.”
The room grew quiet.
“He came home after my sister died,” Mark continued. “Not because Mom begged him. She didn’t. She told him if he wanted to come back, he had to understand something.”
“What?”
Mark picked up the letter and read one sentence aloud.
“‘You don’t earn a place in a family by being sorry you missed it.’”
Emily looked down at her hands.
The words settled between them.
Mark continued.
“He said Mom made him prove himself through ordinary things. Appointments. Groceries. Bills. Sitting with her when she couldn’t sleep. Showing up when nobody applauded.”
Claire turned away, pretending to straighten bottles.
Emily realized she was blinking back tears.
“Why did he write to you?”
Mark stared at the final page.
“Because he thought I was becoming like him.”
