Halfway down the second page, though, there was a sentence that stopped me.

“I should never have spoken about Hazel’s food as though it were a reward your husband could grant or withhold.”

It was not a complete apology.

She still believed I had acted harshly.

But she had named the most important wrong without disguising it as a misunderstanding.

I folded the pages and placed them in a drawer.

I did not send a thank-you note.

Several weeks later, she asked through counsel whether she could send a birthday present to Hazel.