We were two adults who cared about the same young women and had finally learned to speak without trying to win.

I continued counseling and reduced my workload.

My company did not collapse.

Some projects thrived; some failed.

I no longer treated either outcome as a verdict on my worth.

Cordelia and I finalized our separation through legal channels.

Penelope continued pursuing photography and applied to a summer documentary program.

At her first public exhibition, she displayed a photograph of three young women in a university cafeteria, heads bent together over a notebook.