Chapter 12 - I Met The Woman I Had Been Taught To Suspect
Megan was gone.
I would never get to ask her questions.
That became one of the hardest parts.
So Beth helped me understand who she had been.
Not Daniel’s mysterious former lover.
Not the woman secretly waiting to reclaim him.
A mother.
A respiratory therapist.
Someone who loved bad reality television.
Someone who hated olives.
Someone who once drove four hours because Ryan forgot his favorite stuffed dog at his grandmother’s house.
Ordinary.
Human.
Beth showed me one photograph.
Megan and Ryan at the beach.
Daniel wasn’t there.
Megan was laughing.
Ryan was covered in sand.
I stared longer than necessary.
“For years, I think I would’ve hated her if I knew.”
Beth nodded.
“She probably would’ve hated you too.”
We both laughed sadly.
“Because of Daniel.”
“Because of Daniel.”
Two women positioned against each other by a man who told each one a different version of the other.
Megan believed I demanded secrecy.
I might have believed she demanded Daniel remain emotionally divided.
Neither was true.
The person controlling the bridge controlled the story.
Daniel.
Beth handed me another envelope.
Megan had written letters for Ryan in case anything happened to her.
One mentioned me.
If Claire ever becomes part of your life, remember that adults sometimes know less than children assume.
Megan had written that before discovering the full truth.
Even then, she left room for the possibility that I was not the monster Daniel’s excuses made me.
I wished I had known her.
Not because we would have become friends.
May you like
Maybe we wouldn’t.
Because we deserved the chance to dislike each other honestly.
