Chapter 19 - Renata’s Apology
Renata’s first apology came through counsel.
Useless.
“I regret that Dahlia experienced our family tradition negatively.”
No.
Her therapist apparently hated it too.
Months later, a second letter arrived.
Dahlia,
I grabbed your dress at the wedding.
Direct.
“I pulled hard enough that you fell.”
There.
“I also made you carry things for the wedding after you told me you were tired.”
There.
“I took away your blue dress and gave you an old one because I thought you should look like the girls in old family service photographs.”
There.
Then:
“I made you sleep near the kitchen because I was angry that you did not keep the temporary room neat.”
There.
No euphemism.
Then the harder part:
“I was angry at your dad for things that happened when I was young, and I used you to make a point to him.”
There.
That mattered most.
Then:
“You were not responsible for what happened to me when I was a girl.”
Excellent.
No request to forgive.
No:
Aunt loves you.
No visit request.
Dahlia listened.
Asked:
“Did she really sleep kitchens too?”
“Sometimes service rooms. Yes.”
“Then why do me?”
“Because people sometimes repeat things they should have questioned.”
Dahlia frowned.
“That’s dumb.”
May you like
Sometimes seven-year-old legal analysis is enough.
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