Chapter 18 - Evelyn is angry at me too
Evelyn did not forgive me because Maude lied.
She said:
“You trusted systems that told you I was dead.”
“Yes.”
“You saw the body?”
“I saw part of a face.”
“You didn’t demand DNA?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because they gave me your bracelet.”
“That wasn’t enough.”
“No.”
Then:
“You stopped searching.”
“I thought there was no one to search for.”
“I stopped searching too.”
There.
Neither of us got to pretend only one person failed.
She could have approached police outside Maude’s channels.
Could have called my lawyer.
Could have sent certified mail.
But she was traumatized and manipulated.
Different responsibility.
Not zero agency.
We talked like adults.
Painfully.
No instant marriage restoration.
We were still legally married?
Yes.
Because she had been declared dead, marital status had effectively terminated administratively? Legally death ends marriage. Once death record corrected, status gets complicated. Courts would determine. Better:
Our marriage was treated as terminated by death. Correction did not automatically recreate seven years of marital status in every context.
So we were not simply husband and wife again by magic.
May you like
If we wanted marriage, we would choose it anew.
We did not know yet.
