“I want to tell you what I didn’t say then. Emma isn’t just smart. Lots of people are smart. Emma keeps going. When everyone tells her to stop asking questions, she asks louder. When everyone tells her to be grateful for scraps, she goes and earns the whole meal. When everyone told her that her grandfather forgot her…” His voice wavered. He stopped. He took a sip of water. “She drove three hours to find out for herself.”
The room was very quiet now.
“For twelve years, I sat in a room in Vermont and thought my whole family had forgotten me. I thought nobody was coming. And then one day in April, I looked up from my crossword, and there was this grown woman standing in my doorway. And she said, ‘Grandpa, it’s Emma.’”
He looked at me. His eyes were full.
“You came back for the truth, Emmy. Nobody else did. You came back for me.”
