The Crate in the Parking Lot
That’s the honest answer and it’s ugly and you asked.
Willa, twelve: do you regret it
Maren: Every day.
And I would probably do it again, because the person who did it was somebody who couldn’t do anything else, and she’s still in here somewhere and I don’t fully trust her.
That’s why I’ve never turned up at your door.
Not because I don’t want to.
Because I’ve done the maths on what happens if I do it badly.
And then, in the November of 2023, in an answer to a question about whether she had ever tried to come back: