Chapter 25 - ETHAN AND ME
Ethan asked to meet without Ava present.
We were both fifty.
Decades had passed.
Neutral café.
Public.
No lawyers.
“Why?” I asked.
“I want to apologize without making Ava carry it.”
Fair.
He looked older.
Still handsome.
Less certain.
“I stole the card.”
“Yes.”
“I knew you would say no.”
“Yes.”
“I thought being your husband gave me some kind of moral credit I could spend.”
“That sounds accurate.”
“I blocked the nurses.”
“Yes.”
“My mother held Ava at the window.”
“Yes.”
“I still waited.”
“Yes.”
He looked down.
“I have replayed that minute for twenty years.”
“I hope you don’t expect that to help me.”
“No.”
Good.
He continued:
“I loved you.”
“I know.”
His eyes filled.
“You believe that?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Because love and entitlement can coexist. That’s why entitlement is dangerous.”
He nodded.
“I’m sorry.”
“I believe you.”
No forgiveness declaration.
No romantic suggestion.
No alternate life.
We had once been married.
Now we were two adults connected by a daughter.
That was enough.
When Ava later asked:
“How did coffee go?”
“Fine.”
“Did Dad cry?”
“Yes.”
May you like
“Knew it.”
No mystery.
