Chapter 19 - THE FIRST APOLOGY
Trent’s first letter said:
I am sorry you became afraid of me.
No.
Then:
I am sorry the argument on the stairs ended with your injury.
No.
Then:
I should not have tried to force open the bathroom door.
Better.
Still separated.
Months later:
Sylvia,
I grabbed your arm when you tried to leave.
You fell because I would not let you leave the argument.
I told myself that because I did not mean to break your wrist, I had not caused it.
That was dishonest.
I also tried to make you sign a statement that protected my position instead of telling the truth.
When you refused, I treated your refusal as betrayal.
At the club, I tried to take your phone because I was afraid of losing my place in the family.
You did not cause that fear and you did not owe me protection from its consequences.
You do not have to answer.
I read it twice.
Then put it in a file.
No reunion.
May you like
Recognition is not repair.
Sometimes recognition arrives after the relationship is already over.
