Only when Daniel asks about Maya.
My daughter touched the edge of the envelope but didn’t open it.
“Why Maya?”
Arthur folded his hands.
“Your mother believed your father was a good man.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“That sounds like a dangerous beginning.”
“She also believed you solved every problem like a businessman.”
“That sounds more accurate.”
Arthur looked at Sophie.
“Your mother worried that after she died, your father might try to organize grief instead of living through it.”
Sophie looked slowly at me.
I shifted in my chair.
“Apparently your mother discussed me with everybody.”
“She discussed you with affection,” Arthur said.
“That makes it only slightly less concerning.”
Sophie smiled.
Arthur nodded toward the envelope.
“She wanted Daniel to discover Maya without being directed toward her.”
“How could she know that would happen?” I asked.
“She didn’t.”
That surprised me.
“She had no idea whether you would ever ask about Maya. She told me that if you didn’t, I should eventually destroy the envelope.”
Sophie’s eyes widened.
“Destroy it?”
“On your eighteenth birthday.”
She stared at him.
“That’s ten years away.”
“Your mother was patient.”
I remembered that differently.
Claire once returned a toaster because it required four minutes to make toast.
But in matters that mattered, perhaps Arthur was right.
Sophie looked at me.
“Open it.”
I slid one finger beneath the seal.
Inside were two letters.
One addressed to Sophie.
One to me.
There was also a small flash drive.
Arthur stood.
“I’ll give you privacy.”
When he left, neither Sophie nor I moved.
Finally she said, “Can I read mine first?”
“Yes.”
She unfolded the page.
Claire had written in blue ink.
Sophie read silently for several seconds.
Then smiled.
Then frowned.
Then smiled again.
I tried not to watch.
It was difficult.
Eventually she lowered the paper.
“She says you’re going to pretend you aren’t reading my face.”
“I’m not pretending anything.”
“She says you will.”
I sighed.
“What else?”
“That’s private.”
“Of course.”
She folded the letter carefully.
Then looked at mine.
“You should read yours.”
Claire’s letter began without ceremony.
Daniel,
If you are reading this, you asked about Maya.
That means either an extraordinary coincidence occurred, or Sophie did something you did not schedule.
I stopped.
Sophie leaned toward me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Mom made fun of you, didn’t she?”
