The details were incomplete, but the regret was unmistakable.

Arthur wrote, I said things a father should never say.

Richard said things a son should not have had to hear.

We both acted as though there would be more time.

“There’s more to this than somebody being greedy,” I said.

Elise took the book and read the passage herself.

“There usually is.”

The story Richard would eventually tell was likely to be different from Arthur’s.