I wouldn’t be here.
“Why didn’t you just come back?” I asked.
“Because I’d already promised my life to Margaret by then. I loved her too, Ruth.”
Strangely, that didn’t hurt
as much as I expected.
“I loved her.”
“What you had with her was real?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m glad.”
He looked surprised.
“I wouldn’t want another woman’s whole life turned into a mistake just because we were afraid to speak when we were teenagers.”
Jeffrey reached for my hand.
He looked surprised.
“I wrote that final letter because I knew if we continued talking, I might run back to you.”
“And you thought cutting me off was better?”
“No.”
A sad smile crossed his face.
“I thought it was responsible.
I was wrong.”
“I wrote that final letter.”
I took his hand.
“Margaret knew?”
“Eventually.”
“What did she say?”
“She said we were two of the stupidest people she’d
