Emily absorbed the words.
“That’s hard to hear.”
“I know.”
“But it’s the first explanation you’ve given me that doesn’t sound like an excuse.”
Mark nodded.
She turned toward the window.
“I don’t know whether I can be your wife again.”
“I know.”
“I may decide I can’t.”
“I know.”
“And you’ll still be their father?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
Emily turned.
“You’re sure?”
Mark looked toward the room where the girls slept.
“I missed their first breaths because I thought being needed was a burden.”
His voice cracked slightly.
“I’m not missing their lives because my marriage didn’t end the way I wanted.”
Emily looked at him for a long time.
Something inside her loosened.
Not enough to return home.
Not enough to remove her wedding ring from the chain where she had placed it.
But enough to believe him.
