Chapter 22 - PATRICIA WRITESPatricia’s first letter arrived eleven months after Lily’s birth.
My attorney forwarded it.
I almost deleted it.
Then read.
The opening was terrible.
I am sorry that a moment of stress caused so much pain.
I stopped.
Daniel read the rest.
He said:
“Don’t bother.”
Three months later another letter came.
Different.
I struck Emily.
I kept reading.
I told myself I was trying to get her attention. I was angry that she would not hand Lily to me and angry about the name. Those explanations do not change what I did.
Then:
When Lily fell, I became afraid of what would happen to me. That fear became more important to me than telling the doctors and police the truth immediately.
Then:
I asked Emily to call it an accident because that is what this family has done for me for years.
I had to stop there.
Daniel cried.
The letter continued:
Daniel should have told Emily about my past behavior. Rebecca should not have had to protect me. Michael should not have protected me either. But none of their choices caused my hand to strike Emily. That was mine.
That paragraph mattered.
Accountability without a committee.
I kept the letter.
May you like
Lily was too young.
An apology does not create a debt.
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