"That was always the debt, " I replied, handing her an envelope.
Inside was enough for a deposit, groceries, and three months in a modest apartment.
She stared at the amount.
"Why?"
"Because the girls watched tonight." I looked toward them. "I want them to understand compassion does not require pretending the past was acceptable."
"Because the girls watched tonight."
Katherine folded the envelope carefully.
At the door, Amelia hurried to the bookshelf.
She picked up the old storybook and placed it in Katherine's hands.
Katherine held it against her chest.
"She'll have something to remember us by," I said.
Greta shook her head.
"No, Dad." She looked at her mother. "So she can finally finish reading it."
Katherine held it against her chest.
After Katherine left, the empty space on the shelf looked larger than one book should have made it.
Greta noticed me staring.
"Dad, what do we read now?"
