CHAPTER 13: THE FORGIVENESS
My father came to my house that evening.
"I'm sorry," he said.
I didn't let him in at first.
"There's nothing you can say that makes this better."
"I know. I just want you to know that I see you now."
"See me?"
"I see what I did. The favoritism. The cruelty. I see it all."
I looked at him.
His face was older.
Tired.
Broken.
And for the first time, I saw something I'd never seen before.
Regret.
"Come in," I said.
"One cup of coffee. And then you're leaving."
He nodded.
We sat at my kitchen table.
And we talked.
About the past.
About the future.
About the family that could have been.
"I'm not going to forgive you," I said. "Not yet. But I'm going to try."
"That's all I can ask for."
We said goodbye.
And I went back to my daughter.
May you like
To my new life.
Where family was a choice, not an obligation.
