I reached across the table.
“Daniel, you can love your father without agreeing with everything he does. And you can love your mother without approving of every decision she makes.”
He stared at me.
“That’s easy for you to say.”
“You’re right. It is.”
I paused.
“But you don’t have to solve their marriage. And you don’t have to decide how you feel about our relationship overnight.”
Daniel looked down at his hands.
“I don’t want to lose either of you.”
My chest tightened.
“You won’t lose me because of this.”
He gave me a tired smile.
“You can’t promise that.”
“No. But I can promise that I won’t lie to you about what’s happening.”
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he gathered the photographs and placed them back inside the envelope.
“Okay.”
It wasn’t forgiveness.
But it was the beginning of an honest conversation.
And sometimes, that is the only beginning people can manage.
