I waited at home, fighting the urge to call and ask how it was going.

It was their conversation, and neither woman needed me directing it.

Lauren later told me that Patricia had apologized without asking to be forgiven.

She admitted what she’d done with the letter and acknowledged that Lauren had every reason to distrust her.

The meeting had been uncomfortable, but it was respectful.

They agreed that any introduction to Mason would be gradual and would happen only after Mason was told who Patricia was and given room to ask questions.

When my mother eventually met him at the park, she brought no extravagant presents and made no speech about seven lost years.