Eleanor’s letter explained that she had encouraged Mom to persuade Dad to contact Arthur directly.
But Dad refused.
Not because he hated Arthur.
Because he was embarrassed.
That surprised all of us.
Especially Arthur.
“He thought I believed he was dishonest,” Arthur said.
Grace nodded.
“Apparently that mattered to him.”
Arthur looked down.
“I respected him.”
“He didn’t know that anymore.”
The sentence was gentle.
It still hurt.
Eleanor wrote that she had remained in occasional contact with Mom for years.
They met for coffee.
Sometimes they talked about the company.
Mostly they talked about ordinary life.
Children.
School.
Money.
Marriage.
Eleanor knew about Grace wanting to become a nurse.
“She knew?” Grace murmured.
I looked at her.
Grace had stopped reading.
Arthur turned around.
“What?”
Grace pointed at a paragraph.
“Your wife knew I wanted nursing school.”
Arthur’s expression softened.
“Eleanor remembered everything people told her.”
