to fix this in one conversation.”
He nodded without argument.
“You don’t get to repay the money and act like that settles it.”
“I know.”
“You scared them.”
His mouth drew tight.
“I know.”
“And I wasn’t here.”
“That isn’t on you.”
“Some of it is.”
My monthly transfers had been care, but also a convenient substitute for presence. I hadn’t heard Dad’s exhaustion or questioned Mom’s sudden silence about Derek. From five hours away I’d assumed money was enough. Derek recognized the guilt on my face.
“You called.”
“Not enough.”
“You came when Mom called.”
“After four months.”
“Gabriel.”
He rested his shoulder against the wall.
“We can both spend the next ten years deciding which one of us failed them more.”
He glanced toward Dad, busy with the coffee in the kitchen.
“Or we can stop failing them.”
After Derek’s unexpectedly wise words, Inez called about the mapped
