“But I’ll tell you this.” I looked out at the yard. At the balloon. At the maple tree that was dropping its first red leaf onto the grass, right about where the trash bags had been a year ago. “I didn’t forgive you all at once. I don’t think I ever will. I think I’m forgiving you in pieces. A little bit every time you show up. A little bit every time you tell me the truth even when it’s ugly. A little bit every time you hold her.”
He didn’t say anything. He just nodded. His eyes were wet.“Some days I give you a piece,” I said. “Some days I take one back. That’s how it’s going to be. Maybe for a long time.”
“That’s fair,” he said. “That’s more than fair.”
“Good.”
We sat there a while longer. Then, very slowly, I moved over on the step until my shoulder was touching his.
