“I wanted to leave first.”
“Why?”
“Because leaving hurts less when you decide when it happens.”
Then he said the part that broke me.
I had to look away.
Then he said the part that broke me.
“I was going to do it to you.”
I turned back.
“What?”
Despite everything, I almost laughed.
“When I moved in, I had a plan. Give it a couple months. Then start acting different.”
“But you didn’t.”
Tears ran down his face.
“I messed up.”
Despite everything, I almost laughed.
“Then I started loving you.”
“How?”
“I liked being here.”
He covered his face.
“Then I started loving you.”
I moved around the table.
“Then the adoption happened, and all I could think was that Emma would hate me.”
“I called you Mom without meaning to. Then the adoption happened, and everybody was happy, and all I could think was that Emma would hate me.”
