The letter was followed by one to me.

It contained no claim of innocence and no appeal to the divorce settlement.

It acknowledged that she had intercepted the information about the pregnancy and had helped produce a reply meant to end communication.

I gave the letter to Miriam and kept a copy in the green folder.

I was not ready to forgive Margaret.

Forgiveness was not an appointment I could schedule, nor a condition of June’s relationship with her father.

Eventually, with a family counselor’s help and after June expressed curiosity, we arranged a brief meeting in a public botanical garden.