Chapter 14 - My Father Apologized Without Asking Me to Forgive Him
My relationship with Dad needed repair too.
Not because he had exploited me.
Because protection without honesty still has consequences.
We sat on my parents’ back porch one Sunday.
“You should have told me about Erin,” I said.
“Yes.”
“You should have told me you knew Howard.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t get to decide what information I can handle just because you’re scared I’ll make the wrong choice.”
“I know.”
No defense.
That helped.
“Why didn’t you stop the wedding?”
“You were thirty-two.”
He looked at me.
“You loved him. I had concerns, not proof. If I had ordered you away from Brandon, I would’ve been doing another version of what his family did.”
That landed.
“So you created the account.”
“Yes.”
“A financial escape hatch.”
“I hoped it would just become a house.”
For the first time, I smiled.
“So did I.”
He looked down.
“I’m sorry.”
Not:
I’m sorry but I was right.
Not:
You should have listened.
Just:
I’m sorry.
I reached across the table.
“I’m still angry.”
“You’re allowed.”
“I love you.”
“I know.”
Both could exist.
That became another lesson Brandon’s family had never understood.
May you like
Love does not erase boundaries.
Boundaries do not erase love.
