Chapter 17 - THE LETTERS CHANGE
The letters themselves documented Diane’s growth.
Year one:
Grief.
Year two:
Community college.
Year three:
New apartment.
Year four:
Nursing-school application.
Year five:
First stable relationship.
Year six:
Therapy.
Year seven:
Hope.
She never begged.
Never demanded.
At year five she wrote:
I don’t know if you will ever read these. Dad says your family doesn’t want them, but writing helps me remember that silence is not the same as forgetting.
Frank had read that sentence.
Then kept the envelope.
His lie had become self-sustaining.
Confess now?
He loses Diane.
Trust issue exposed.
Business borrowing questioned.
May you like
So he lied again.
Every year.
