Chapter 11 - Emily Makes Michael Leave First
Michael assumed Emily would ask Margaret to stay away.
She did.
Then Emily surprised him.
“I need you to leave too.”
Michael stared.
“This is my house.”
“It’s our house.”
He nodded slowly.
Emily continued.
“I’m not throwing you out forever. I need space where Lily and I aren’t
watching you decide whether you want us.”
That hurt.
It was supposed to.
Michael packed a bag and moved into Robert’s guest apartment.
He and Emily began marriage counseling separately before attending
together.
Michael stopped blaming Margaret for his choices.
His mother had manipulated him.
But she had not forced him to plan a public separation dinner.
She had not forced him to hide his doubts from Emily.
She had not forced him to imagine a different life with Jennifer.
Those were his decisions.
Jennifer wanted distance too.
She was processing the fact that Michael—the man she once nearly
married—was her biological half-brother.
Nothing romantic had happened since their engagement ended years
earlier.
Still, the discovery was deeply disturbing.
They agreed not to force a sibling relationship.
Thomas began therapy.
Michael did too.
Robert filed for legal separation from Margaret.
He did not know whether the marriage would end.
For the first time, he refused to decide based on what would look
respectable.
On New Year’s Eve, Michael called Emily.
“I miss you.”
She answered honestly.
“I miss who I thought we were.”
He was quiet.
“Can we become something better?”
“I don’t know.”
He accepted that.
Then Lily grabbed the phone.
“Daddy, are you coming home?”
Michael’s voice cracked.
“Not tonight, sweetheart.”
“Why?”
“Because Mommy and Daddy are working on some grown-up problems.”
Lily thought.
“Did you spill soup too?”
Emily nearly laughed.
Michael did.
“No. But I made a mess.”
Lily answered with five-year-old certainty.
“Then clean it up.”
Emily closed her eyes.
May you like
Michael whispered:
“I’m trying.”
