Chapter 6 - The Unexpected Guest
Christmas Eve dawned quiet and bright, snow dusting the porch rail. I woke early, made coffee, and was standing at the window watching the gulls when a car pulled up—not one of the big rental vans, but a small, familiar sedan. My breath caught.
It was Dad.
He got out slowly, hands in his coat pockets, and walked to the steps. He looked smaller than I remembered, hair grayer, shoulders hunched. “Nora,” he said, and stopped, like he didn’t know what to say next.
I didn’t move to let him in. “Did Mom send you?”
He shook his head. “I came alone. She… she doesn’t know I’m here.” He hesitated, then sat down on the bottom step, leaving space between us. “I’ve been thinking. For a long time. About those Christmases. About the things we said. The things we didn’t say.” His voice was rough. “I was wrong, Nora. We were all wrong. We let you down. Badly.”
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. I’d waited half my life to hear those words, and now that they were here, they felt fragile, like they might vanish if I breathed too hard.
May you like
“Why?” I asked. “Why now?”
“Because your grandmother left me a letter,” he said, pulling an envelope from his pocket. “She gave it to her lawyer to give me after she was gone. It said: Don’t wait until it’s too late to see her. She’s been there all along.”
