you tell me?”
Mom turned her wedding band around her finger.
“Because we thought we could fix it.”What exactly needed fixing?”
Dad lowered himself onto the opposite mattress, setting the corroded key across his knee.
“It started last year.”
I knew the construction supplier had dismissed Derek during restructuring. I hadn’t heard about the credit-card debt, car loan or failed online venture with a friend. Dad said the debts weren’t overwhelming.“He was embarrassed,” Mom explained. “Your brother has always had trouble admitting when he’s scared.”
“And Veronica?”
“She was scared too.”
Her answer caught me off guard. Through the window, I’d seen Veronica directing everyone with complete confidence. Dad read my reaction.She can be difficult,” he observed. “But difficult isn’t the same as evil.”
That was Dad: unwilling to label people simply good or bad. Sound timber had flaws; warped boards could sometimes be saved. He judged
