But I could hear that he was describing his own behavior instead of blaming me for it.

“I don’t need a grand house,” I told him.

“I needed a safe one.”

He nodded.

We ate soup and spoke about ordinary things.

He asked whether I still made peach jam.

I told him the first batch of the season was already gone because Marcus and Nina had eaten half of it.

At the end of lunch, he asked if we could meet again sometime.