But you needed someone to come.

I’m glad he did.”

It was the most honest sentence I had heard him say in years.

PART 21: What Agnes Finally Heard

The first conversation I willingly had with Agnes happened months later, in a counselor’s office and only after we had both agreed on boundaries.

Lucas attended, but the meeting wasn’t meant to decide my marriage.

It was about whether Agnes could have a respectful relationship with Paisley and me.

She arrived in a pale cardigan and looked smaller than she had on the day I came home from surgery.