Before she left, Emily hugged me.
-
You know what? He told me. I was afraid to come today.
-
And me.
He smiled.
But I’m glad I did.
- Me too, sister.
He laughed slowly, then he held me back in his arms.
After they left, I stayed for a few minutes on the porch. It was chilly, and in the distance the cars were heard passing on the road. I thought about the evening when the ambulance had taken my father and the envelope I had hidden under the hoodie.
Then I thought the truth would destroy my family.
In a way, it had destroyed the image I had had about her. I couldn’t go back to my childhood where I thought my parents had never hidden anything important. I couldn’t watch my dad anymore without remembering Emily, waiting for him at the celebrations he hadn’t come to.
But I also discovered something I had never known before.
