Page 7
I couldn’t sleep.
Around midnight, I went outside.
Snow was falling softly.
The estate was silent.
I found Adrian sitting alone on the stone steps.
He looked up.
“Can’t sleep?”
“No.”
“Me neither.”
I sat several feet away.
For a while, we said nothing.
Then he spoke.
“I remember the day you told me.”
I looked at him.
“You remember?”
“Every word.”
“Then why did you call me a liar?”
He looked down.
“My father.”
“What?”
“He told me something.”
I waited.
“He said the pregnancy couldn’t be mine.”
“Why?”
“Because of the dates.”
I shook my head.
“The dates were wrong because the doctors had originally calculated the pregnancy incorrectly.”
Adrian nodded.
“I know.”
“So you believed your father over your wife?”
“I was deployed. I was under pressure. I was angry.”
“Those are explanations.”
He looked at me.
“I know.”
“They aren’t excuses.”
“I know.”
His voice broke slightly.
“I was young.”
“So was I.”
“I thought you were trying to trap me.”
I stared at him.
“Why would I need to trap you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Exactly.”
