Chapter 22 - WHAT I TOLD VIVIANAfter my diversion ended and the charge was dismissed, Monique asked whether I would speak to Vivian again.
Vivian was nine by then.
We met at a park.
Nina chose not to come.
Vivian asked:
“Did you get arrested?”
“No.”
“Grandpa said you almost went to jail.”
“I was charged with something because I hit you. I completed a program and community service, and the charge was dismissed.”
She processed this.
“Did you do community service because of me?”
“Because of what I did.”
She nodded.
Then:
“Grandma said you made them sell their house because I said that.”
My stomach tightened.
“No.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Would they still have sold if dinner didn’t happen?”
I thought carefully.
“I don’t know exactly what would have happened. But the house had big loans against it, and your grandparents could not afford the extension they wanted without a better plan.”
“So not because of me?”
“No.”
She looked relieved.
That mattered.
An eight-year-old had been carrying the idea that one cruel sentence cost her grandparents a mansion.
I said:
“Nothing about the house was your responsibility.”
“What about Nina?”
“The thing you said hurt her. That part you can own.”
She nodded.
“I said sorry.”
“I know.”
“She still doesn’t really like me.”
“That may take time.”
“Do you like me?”
I swallowed.
“Yes.”
She looked skeptical.
“Even though you slapped me?”
May you like
“That was about my failure, not your worth.”
I wished I had understood that at the dining table.
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