“Because you spent fifteen years protecting us from the truth,” Samantha said.

“You never once told us the ugly version.

You never said, your mother won’t answer, your mother sends things back, your mother doesn’t want to be reached.

You just let us believe the softest story you could manage, so we wouldn’t have to carry the heavy one.

You protected us from her.”

She paused, and took a breath, and said the thing that went straight through me.

“I think it’s time the truth protected you for once.” I went completely still at the table.