I looked at her. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d She hugged her rabbit. \u201cOther kids have aunts and uncles and cousins. I love living with you, but sometimes I wish we had more people.\u201d I pulled her close. \u201cI know, darling.\u201d She leaned against my shoulder. \u201cMaybe someday?\u201d I didn\u2019t answer. Instead, I looked toward the velvet pouch.<\/p>\n
For the first time, I wondered whether keeping Ellie away from Claire\u2019s relatives would protect her or deprive her of something she\u2019d been missing. But I refused to expose her to a man who had rejected her mother without first learning the truth. So I decided to meet him alone. *** Later that morning, my phone rang. The number was unfamiliar. \u201cHello?\u201d \u201cIs this Margaret?\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy name is Meredith. We met at Walmart yesterday.\u201d I sat up straighter. \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d \u201cPlease, before you make any decisions, I need to explain something.\u201d \u201cYour brother already came here.\u201d \u201cI know.\u201d \u201cWas he lying to me?\u201d \u201cNot exactly. But Nathan doesn\u2019t know everything.\u201d I gripped the phone. \u201cThen tell me what he left out.\u201d \u201cI\u2019d rather speak in person. I\u2019m at St. Luke\u2019s Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy should I believe anything you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Meredith hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t trust me yet. But there\u2019s something involving Claire and your son that I think you deserve to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I arranged for my neighbor, Pat, to watch Ellie.<\/p>\n
Then I drove to the hospital.<\/p>\n
Meredith was sitting alone in the cafeteria, staring at an untouched cup of coffee.<\/p>\n
She looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
When she saw me, she stood immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t sit.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you been watching my granddaughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression changed.<\/p>\n
Finally, she nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor three days.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt my stomach twist.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I wanted to approach you, but I couldn\u2019t find the courage.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pulled out a chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meredith explained that she\u2019d been preparing to introduce herself to us in Walmart.<\/p>\n
But just as she approached the candy aisle, she noticed a man standing near the entrance.<\/p>\n
Their father\u2019s driver.<\/p>\n
Frank.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was there to bring me home,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad realized I\u2019d taken the ring. He knew I was going to find Ellie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he sent someone to stop you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meredith\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI panicked. I hid the ring behind some candy before Frank could see it. He made me leave, but I convinced him to let me go back inside for my purse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s when Ellie found it?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered how frightened she\u2019d looked when her phone rang.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat call you received?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father. He was furious.\u201d<\/p>\n
I folded my arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told Ellie she\u2019d saved your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meredith wiped her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe saved the one thing my mother wanted Claire\u2019s child to have.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
Meredith continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already failed Claire once. I couldn\u2019t bear failing her daughter too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA year before Claire died, she wrote me a letter. She wanted to reconnect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never answered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
Meredith stared at her coffee.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad threatened to cut off anyone who contacted her. Financial support, jobs in the family company, even money for my children\u2019s education.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt a surge of anger.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you chose your father\u2019s money over your own sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face crumpled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she whispered. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve regretted it ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n
For several moments, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
Then I asked the question that had been haunting me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Claire do that was so unforgivable?\u201d<\/p>\n
Meredith looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe married Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son?\u201d<\/p>\n
My jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel worked hard every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe repaired school buses. He was honest, responsible, and devoted to his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meredith nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire told me that in her letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt tears burning behind my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father rejected his daughter because she married a mechanic?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Daniel had no future. He insulted him right in front of her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pushed my chair back.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son was worth more than all your father\u2019s money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meredith hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I finally told Dad that Claire had died, he said something I haven\u2019t been able to forget.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo words. \u2018I know.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
I went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
Meredith nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe already knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about the funeral.<\/p>\n
Eleven people had attended.<\/p>\n
Not one member of Claire\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
I had assumed they didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
But now I understood that at least one of them had.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is your father?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Meredith looked nervous.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRoom 412.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay here.\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
The man lying in the hospital bed looked nothing like the powerful businessman I\u2019d imagined.<\/p>\n
He was thin and pale, with silver hair and an oxygen tube beneath his nose.<\/p>\n
His name was Richard.<\/p>\n
He turned his head when I entered.<\/p>\n
For a moment, he stared at me.<\/p>\n
Then recognition appeared in his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re Daniel\u2019s mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stiffened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy children had no business involving you. If you\u2019re here looking for money, you can leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nearly laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney?\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached into my purse and pulled out the velvet pouch.<\/p>\n
Then I dropped it onto his blanket.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can choke on that diamond ring,\u201d I said. \u201cBut you will never see Ellie if you think you can treat her the way you treated her mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked at the pouch but didn\u2019t touch it.<\/p>\n
I stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour daughter and my son died in a car accident three years ago. You didn\u2019t even come to their funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew they were dead?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe police contacted me the next morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would they call you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was the last person Claire tried to contact.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe called you?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left me a voicemail that afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice shook as he repeated the message.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said they would be passing through Riverton around nine that evening. She wanted me to meet my granddaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
My knees suddenly felt weak.<\/p>\n
I remembered that night.<\/p>\n
Daniel and Claire had left Ellie with me, saying they were going out together.<\/p>\n
They never returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey told me they were having a date night,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Richard shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey weren\u2019t going on a date.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where were they going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were coming to see me.\u201d<\/p>\n
For several seconds, I couldn\u2019t speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He explained that Claire and Daniel had arrived at his house just as promised.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d watched them through the doorbell camera.<\/p>\n
Claire rang the bell twice.<\/p>\n
Daniel stood beside her, holding her hand.<\/p>\n
They waited.<\/p>\n
My voice trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s face crumpled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stood inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt my blood turn cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cInside where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind the front door.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean they were standing outside, and you were home?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy hand was on the lock.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn\u2019t you open it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard began to cry.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was too proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d told Claire never to come back. I couldn\u2019t bring myself to admit I was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped away from the bed.<\/p>\n
For a moment, the hospital room seemed to spin.<\/p>\n
My son and daughter-in-law had driven ninety miles hoping to mend a broken relationship.<\/p>\n
And Richard had left them standing outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey died on the road that night,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey never made it home.\u201d<\/p>\n
He covered his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019d opened the door, maybe they would still be alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him through my tears.<\/p>\n
There was no way to know whether opening that door would have changed what happened.<\/p>\n
But his rejection had been real.<\/p>\n
And so was the damage it caused.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that why you stayed away from their funeral?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Richard nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t face you. I couldn\u2019t face Claire\u2019s grave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what about Ellie?\u201d<\/p>\n
He went silent.<\/p>\n
I moved closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know where she was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor three years?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI drove past your house.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart pounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree times.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t believe what I was hearing.<\/p>\n
Richard looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the roof needed repairs. Once, I saw Ellie outside wearing a coat that looked too small.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gripped the bedrail.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you didn\u2019t stop?\u201d<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know what to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him in disbelief.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have said, \u2018I\u2019m your grandfather.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He began crying again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you send someone after Meredith when she tried to give Ellie the ring?\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was barely audible.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I knew you\u2019d eventually learn what happened. I was afraid you\u2019d blame me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him for a long moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t cause the crash,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cBut you did leave your daughter outside your house when she came asking for a second chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard turned his face away.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor three years, Ellie has believed she had no one left except me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He whispered, \u201cI wanted to know her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat didn\u2019t stop you from watching her from your car.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
I thought about Ellie drawing pictures of her parents in heaven.<\/p>\n
I looked at her. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d She hugged her rabbit. \u201cOther kids have aunts and uncles and cousins. I love living with you, but sometimes I wish we … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,21,22,1,5,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aita","category-daily-article","category-reddit-stories","category-story","category-story-daily","category-viral-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6434,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6431\/revisions\/6434"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}