The hope disappeared.
“You have no idea what it’s like to lose a child.”
“No,” I said. “But I know what it’s like to love one enough to listen when they say no.”
Ryan looked down.
His mother wiped at her face.
He spoke quietly.
“I wanted to know you. I still might someday. But not like this. Not when every boundary I give you becomes something you try to get around.”
She looked at him for several seconds.
Then she picked up her purse.
No screaming.
No dramatic scene.
She simply walked out.
The doors closed behind her.
Everyone stood there in silence.
Emma finally touched my arm.
“Mom?”
“Not yet.”
She stopped.
I turned to her and David.
“I understand why you protected Ryan. I do.”
Emma nodded.
“But you let me stand in my kitchen last night and accuse your father of having an affair when both of you knew exactly who that woman was.”
