I pulled Shannon closer to my chest. “They are enough.”
Maya glanced at our baby, then at me.
“For you, maybe.”
“You can’t just walk out on six children.”
“They are enough.”
Her eyes flashed. “You can’t give me the life I want. But Harry can. He bought me a brand-new car and even took me to the Maldives, Robert. Do you understand the kind of life he gives me? The kind of life I deserve?”
“Maya,” I whispered. “Our daughter can hear you.”
She looked over at Adele. “Then maybe she’ll learn not to settle.”
Then she shut the door behind her — no kiss for Shannon, no promise to call — just the sound of it closing, and six girls suddenly became my entire world.
“Our daughter can hear you.”
Back in the kitchen, Adele sat facing me.
“I can tell her no,” I said. “This is your wedding.”
“Tell her she’s welcome.”
My stomach sank. “Adele.”
“I mean it.”
“She’s not coming for you. She’s coming to perform.”
“I know.”
“This is your wedding.”
“Then why let her?”
Adele held my gaze for a long moment. “Because you spent 15 years protecting us from the truth. I think it’s time the truth protected you.”
I froze.
“No.”
“You know what I’m asking for.”
“The box stays where it is.”
“I think it’s time the truth protected you.”
“The box, Dad.”
Inside it were 15 years’ worth of things I’d mailed to Maya, every one sent back.
Birthday invitations. School pictures. Recital programs. Graduation notices. Copies of emails. Returned envelopes. Cards the girls had made before they stopped asking whether Mom might show up next time.
I hadn’t held onto it for revenge.
I’d kept it because someday my daughters might wonder if I’d tried.
And I wanted to be able to say yes.
“The box, Dad.”
“That box is ugly,” I said.
“What she did was ugly,” Adele said. “The box is just proof.”
“This is your wedding. Not a courtroom.”
“She’s the one putting you on trial.”
I stood and gripped the back of a chair. “Let people think what they want, hon.”
“No, Dad. You’re exhausted from being both parents to all of us. You don’t need this extra pressure.”
“The box is just proof.”
Adele opened her folder and slid out a printed message.
