Chapter 22 - Richard and Diane
Richard eventually returned to live with Diane.
That surprised me.
They did not become newlyweds.
They became two old people trying to decide whether forty years contained enough truth to continue.
Richard imposed boundaries he should have used decades earlier.
No comments about male heirs.
No involvement in Mark’s parenting.
No private lobbying over my house.
No showing up uninvited.
Diane agreed.
Sometimes failed verbally.
Richard ended conversations.
For the first time.
One Christmas, she said:
“The Sloan name—”
Richard stood.
“We’re leaving.”
She stopped.
“No, I was going to say—”
“We’re leaving.”
He left with her.
Later she apologized.
Boundaries require consequences more than speeches.
Richard’s relationship with the girls slowly repaired.
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He never asked them to forgive Diane.
That helped.
