“Your husband thought Emily was his?”
“For four years.”
Susan’s voice was almost inaudible.
“And then?”
“He found out.”
I stared.
“That’s why you divorced.”
She nodded.
All these years, Susan had told me her marriage ended because they “wanted different lives.”
I had comforted her.
Again.
The memories kept changing shape.
Michael’s letter continued.
He claimed that for years, he and Susan avoided another physical relationship.
He saw Emily quietly.
Birthday cards.
Occasional afternoons.
Money deposited through Susan.
Then, when Emily was six, Susan’s marriage collapsed.
Michael became more involved.
And somewhere inside that renewed closeness, he and Susan began an affair.
Seventeen years.
Exactly what Susan had told me.
I put down the page.
“Did you love him?”
Susan did not hesitate.
“Yes.”
“More than me?”
Her face twisted.
“That question doesn’t have a clean answer.”
“It does for me.”
She cried.
“I loved you differently.”
