I looked at Harold.
Even then, he was calculating, searching for whichever lie was still standing.
There were none.
"Leave," I said.
He looked at the arch, the flowers, the lunch tables, as if the day still belonged partly to him.
"Get out, Harold. And be glad I don't pursue this to any greater extent. Leave."
He walked out through the same gate his sister had entered and didn't look back.
For a long moment, nobody moved.
I looked at the chairs I had set there for children I accused of trying to control me.
Then I looked at the two empty chairs in the front row.
I looked at the chairs I had set there for children I accused of trying to control me.
I said their names.
Peter and Elise came forward together.
They did not sit.
They stood beside me.
"You were trying to protect my right to choose."
