Chapter 23 - MARGARET’S LAST MEETING
Emily was twenty-one when she requested one meeting.
Margaret was eighty-one.
Frail.
Still sharp.
Neutral mediator.
I offered not to attend.
Emily wanted me there.
Margaret looked at her.
“You look like Adam.”
Emily answered:
“People say.”
No hug.
Margaret apologized again.
Then Emily asked:
“Why did you say I had to earn shelter?”
Margaret did not hide behind childhood.
“I was angry that the trust gave you a right I thought I had earned.”
“How?”
“I lived there forty years. Maintained it. Raised children there. Then a document said your mother had more authority than I did.”
“Mom didn’t write document.”
“I know.”
“You blamed us.”
“Yes.”
“Why slap me?”
Margaret’s eyes filled.
“Because you were small enough that I thought I could make the problem obey me.”
Silence.
That was terrible.
Also honest.
Emily nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
Not forgiveness.
Understanding.
Margaret asked:
“Can I hug you?”
Emily said:
“No.”
Margaret nodded.
Good.
The meeting ended.
They never had another.
Margaret died three years later from pneumonia after a stroke.
Emily attended the funeral.
Sat in back.
May you like
Left before reception.
Her choice.
