She did not need to apologize for having a future someone wanted to protect.

I might need to say that again.

One birthday and one letter would not erase years of careful silence.

I could repeat it without demanding that she recover on a schedule convenient to me.

Richard’s acknowledgment remained in the record.

It gave an explanation for his resentment, not an excuse for what he had done.

The marriage still required decisions I had not made.

Emily didn’t have to answer those decisions for me, and I didn’t have to solve them that evening to remain beside her.