When I reached the phone call, her face hardened.

“I don’t know what excuse Daniel will invent,” she said, “but the way he treated you was cruel.

That doesn’t mean he can’t become a better man.

It means nobody should pretend he already has.” I asked whether canceling the payments was excessive.

Ruth pointed toward the turkey.

“You brought food to a family party.

They sent you away.

You didn’t demand anyone else’s money.