Brian lowered his head.
“I do not ask for revenge,” I said. “I ask that the record show I was not confused. I was not helpless. I was not a freeloader in my own home.”
The judge nodded.
“The record is clear, Mr. Bennett.”
For the first time in a long time, I breathed fully.
After the hearing, Brian approached me outside the courthouse.
He kept a respectful distance.
“I’m still going to meetings,” he said.
“I’m glad.”
“I got a job. Warehouse. Night shift.”
“That’s honest work.”
“I started paying restitution.”
“I know.”
He looked surprised.
“I check records,” I said.
For the first time, he almost smiled.
“Yeah. I know.”
We stood under the courthouse steps while people moved around us.
Then he said, “I don’t expect to come home.”
I looked at him.
“That house was never meant to be your hiding place.”
