The sentence sounded insufficient, because it was.

Yet it was more direct than anything he had said in months.

“And what do you think she needed from you afterward?” the counselor asked.

Garrett stared at his hands.

“To be safe.”

The counselor did not congratulate him.

Understanding basic responsibility was not a prize to be awarded; it was a place to begin.

That evening Garrett told Evelyn he had been wrong to throw the coffee and wrong to expect Iris to fund Priscilla’s business.