“He said you kicked him out and refused to give him a chance to fix things.”
I paused, setting the watering can down.
“Did he tell you why he came back?”
“He said his relationship with Melissa ended badly.”
“Did he tell you why Melissa ended it?”
Another silence.
“Apparently, she said he was selfish.”
I couldn’t help smiling.
“That sounds familiar.”
“Mom, please don’t make jokes. Dad sounded really upset.”
“I understand that he’s upset, sweetheart. But being upset doesn’t automatically mean someone is the victim.”
Emily was quiet.
Then she asked, “Do you think you could ever forgive him?”
I looked at the roses.
“Forgiveness is something I may eventually give him. But forgiveness doesn’t mean I have to give him my house, my marriage, or another chance to hurt me.”
Emily breathed out slowly.
“I think I’m finally understanding that.”
I had worried about Emily more than anyone else during the divorce. She was thirty years old, married, and living two states away. She had grown up believing her parents’ marriage was stable. Gary’s
