Chapter 11 - Sophia’s Letter Belonged To Emma
Nathan did not open the red envelope immediately.
It belonged to Emma.
After speaking with her therapist, he asked whether she wanted him to
read it aloud.
She did.
They sat in Sophia’s old garden room.
Nathan opened the letter.
My sweet Emma,
If Daddy is reading this to you, I hope you are sitting somewhere sunny.
Emma looked toward the window.
“It is sunny.”
Nathan laughed through tears.
Sophia wrote about Emma’s first laugh, her tiny fingers, and Nathan
falling asleep upright because he refused to put his newborn daughter
down.
Then came a sentence that made Nathan stop.
When someone says love means you must be afraid of them, they are wrong.
Emma looked at him.
“Keep going.”
People who love you can make mistakes. They can even hurt you. Love does
not make the hurt disappear, and hurt does not mean you caused it.
The final line read:
You are allowed to tell the truth, even when the truth makes a grown-up
uncomfortable.
Emma asked to frame a copy.
They did.
When Claire later requested a chance to apologize, Nathan did not decide
for Emma.
Emma said:
“Not yet.”
Nathan answered:
“Okay.”
No guilt.
No persuasion.
May you like
No deadline.
For the first time since the party, Emma controlled what happened next.
