The doctors could not explain what was happening.
“I was frightened,” Robert admitted. “I thought watching her disappear little by little would destroy you.”
“So you told me she had abandoned me?”
“I thought it would hurt less.”
Kyle stared at him.
“You let me hate my mother for thirty years.”
Robert began to cry.
“At first, I thought I was doing the right thing. Then too much time passed. Every year, it became harder to admit what I had done.”
“You placed her in a care facility and removed my name.”
“I never imagined she would live this long.”
Kyle looked toward the car, where Gladys was smiling at Mia through the window.
“I lost thirty years anyway.”
Robert apologized, but Kyle did not immediately forgive him.
“I believe you’re sorry,” Kyle said. “But I’m finished allowing you to decide what I can survive.”
