“You couldn’t have known.”
“I knew she was afraid.”
His reply was sharp.
Then his shoulders dropped.
“That should have been enough.”
I looked down at the checks.
The first one was dated three years earlier.
I remembered the woman I had been then.
I remembered hiding in the bathroom so Trixie would not see me cry.
I remembered choosing between petrol and groceries.
I remembered feeling ashamed of every need.
Mr. Alvarez folded his hands.
“When you came here, you had the same look Sofia had that day.”
“What look?”
“Like you were trying not to ask for too much.”
My eyes filled.
He continued before I could speak.
“You had your daughter with you. Your car barely started. You looked at that little apartment like it was a palace.”
A weak laugh escaped me.
“It felt like one.”
“I decided I would give you time.”
“Time for what?”
