Chapter 16
Emily asked to see Margaret after nine months.
Not before.
Margaret requested several times.
I passed the request along once.
Emily said no.
That was enough.
When she finally said yes, the meeting happened at the farmhouse.
Not Margaret’s estate.
Not mine politically.
Emily’s safe place.
Margaret entered slowly.
No pearls.
No structured handbag.
Nothing that reminded Emily of the clinic day.
She stopped six feet away.
Emily looked stronger now.
No brace.
No careful breathing.
She wore a loose sweater and stood with both arms crossed.
Margaret started crying.
Emily did not.
“I’m sorry.”
Emily looked at me.
Then back at her.
“For what?”
Good question.
Margaret swallowed.
“For locking the brace.”
Emily waited.
“For telling you movement would hurt you.”
More.
“For keeping food from you when you disobeyed.”
Margaret’s voice broke.
“For telling you your father would leave if you remembered things differently.”
Emily looked down.
Then asked:
“Did Mom hate you?”
Margaret started crying harder.
“No.”
That surprised me.
“Your mother hated what I was doing.”
Good distinction.
“Did you hate Mom?”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
“Then why were you mean?”
My mother took a long time.
“Because I thought being scared gave me permission to control everybody.”
Emily considered that.
Then said:
“That was dumb.”
Linda almost laughed from the kitchen.
I looked away.
Margaret actually smiled through tears.
“Yes.”
Emily did not hug her.
She showed her the birdhouse.
That was all.
Margaret saw the chain holding it.
Her face changed.
“You used that?”
Emily nodded.
“It works better now.”
Nothing I could have said would have hurt Margaret more or healed Emily more.
The chain had changed jobs.
May you like
Maybe people could too.
But unlike metal, they had to choose it repeatedly.
