Chapter 15
Cordelia saw Beatrix again eighteen months after the party.
Because Beatrix asked.
Not because Cordelia earned a timetable.
The meeting happened in the garden.
Me present.
No Percival.
Cordelia approached slowly.
Beatrix stared.
Then held the rabbit tighter.
Cordelia noticed.
Stopped farther away.
Good.
“Hi, Bea.”
“Hi.”
No hug.
Cordelia sat only after Beatrix pointed toward a chair.
Interesting.
Three-year-old power games had become four-year-old boundaries.
Cordelia apologized again.
Specific.
No defense.
Then Beatrix asked:
“Why you hate Bunny?”
Cordelia’s face broke.
“I didn’t hate Bunny.”
Beatrix frowned.
Children hate evasive answers.
Cordelia corrected herself.
“I hated what Bunny reminded me of.”
“What?”
“Your mommy.”
Beatrix stared.
“Why?”
Cordelia swallowed.
“Because I was jealous.”
Simple.
Ugly.
True.
Beatrix thought for a long time.
Then:
“Mommy dead.”
Cordelia cried.
“Yes.”
“You jealous dead person?”
I almost choked.
Cordelia laughed through tears.
“That was very stupid.”
Beatrix nodded.
Agreement immediate.
Good.
Then she asked:
“You still mean?”
“No.”
“Okay.”
Not forgiveness.
Not absolution.
Just information filed.
The meeting lasted fifteen minutes.
At the end, Beatrix let Cordelia touch the rabbit’s ear.
Not hold it.
Important.
Cordelia understood.
She left before asking for more.
That impressed me.
Maybe people change.
May you like
Sometimes.
Slowly.
