That evening I learned the second lesson Aunt Eleanor had tried to teach me: the truth is strongest when you let it stand without screaming.

PART 5

A Room Behind the Locked Door

Nora insisted we have dinner at her house while Grant and Olivia collected their personal things.

She set bowls of tomato soup before the children and never once asked me questions in front of them.

Parker wanted to know if Daddy was angry because he had spilled juice in the car that morning.

I explained again that adults could make poor choices without children causing them.