“My father sent this to you?”
“He mailed it about three weeks before I left for school.”
“How did he know about the ring?”
“Because I showed it to him.”
“I Asked for His Blessing”
“I went to your house on a Saturday morning when you were at work,” Jeffrey said. “And I sat at that kitchen table where we did our homework, and I put that box on the table, and I asked your father for his blessing.”
“What did he say?”
I already knew. I asked anyway.
“He said we were too young. And he said — “
Jeffrey stopped.
“He said you’d give up anything at all if I asked you to. Because you were loyal to me, and loyalty at nineteen doesn’t know the difference between love and sacrifice.”
“You Never Asked Me What I Wanted”
I looked at that box full of letters.
“So you just — started a different life.”
“I tried to hold on. For two years I tried to hold on. But eventually I convinced myself I was helping you.”
