“Of course it is.”
Even our family secrets were analog.
Lucas almost smiled.
“The basement box contained six tapes.”
“Have you listened to them?”
“Five.”
“Why only five?”
He looked at his father.
“The sixth has your name on it.”
My heart thudded.
He showed me the label.
HANNAH — ALONE.
I swallowed.
“Do you have anything that can play this?”
Lucas pointed toward the cabinet.
On top sat a small portable cassette recorder.
I stared at him.
“You came prepared.”
“Dad has spent eleven months preparing.”
Douglas closed his eyes.
“I just didn’t know whether I’d get the chance.”
I put the cassette down.
“Not tonight.”
Both men looked surprised.
I’d surprised myself.
“Why?” Douglas asked.
“Because I’ve spent forty-one years letting my mother decide when I get to hear the truth.”
I placed the tape beside the ring.
“She can wait until morning.”
Something shifted in Douglas’s expression.
