Before ending the call, Emma asked one last question.

“Are you and Dad going to stop loving each other?” I closed my eyes.

“I don’t know when your dad and I will stop being upset,” I said.

“But love doesn’t have to disappear when people disagree.

We’re working out how to be kind and honest again.” She said okay with the solemnity children reserve for answers they are trying to trust.

Afterward I wrote down what we had discussed, not as evidence against her parents, but because I wanted to be careful about what I promised.