Chapter 6 - Susan's Note
Before I did anything else, I needed to know whether a single word of Walter's story was true.
I got Susan's number from Claire and asked if she would meet me for coffee. She drove two hours to do it.
"I owe you an apology," she said before she'd even sat down. "I'm the one who told my dad about your trip. I never should have."
"Did David really know your father?"
Susan opened her purse and slid out an old, folded piece of paper sealed inside a clear plastic sleeve.
"This is the note David helped him write."
I read the same words Walter had spoken out loud on the balcony.
I don't need us to agree about the past. I'd just like to know you now.
"David never told my dad to go find you," Susan said. "I want to be clear about that. Dad just couldn't stand feeling like he owed David something he could never pay back. When I mentioned your trip, he decided it had to mean something."
"And you let him come out here."
Susan looked at her hands. "I thought he'd introduce himself, tell you about David, and leave. I swear I didn't know he was going to hide it. I didn't know he'd let it turn into..." She stopped.
"Into this."
"Yeah."
"Did you expect the two of us to—"
Susan let out a short, startled laugh. "God, no. I expected him to say hello, be sweet about David, and make the whole thing painfully awkward for about twenty minutes."
I almost smiled. "What do you think I should do?"
She shook her head. "My father spent years letting other people decide what he was allowed to want. I'm not about to do that to you too."
May you like
David had pushed Walter toward a choice. Not toward obedience.
Now it was my turn to make one.
