I sat across from him.
“You didn’t have to reveal Frank’s private business. You only had to be truthful about your own.”
He stared at the pill bottle between us.
“I didn’t want to break my promise.”
“I never asked you to.”
“I thought if you knew anything was happening, you’d realize something was wrong.”
“Something was wrong, Eliam. My husband was lying to my face.”
He leaned back.
“I was trying to protect Frank.”
“From whom? Me?”
He looked genuinely hurt by the question.
“No.”
“Then what?”
He hesitated.
“Frank is ashamed.”
“Of having trouble reading?”
Eliam’s expression told me I’d guessed correctly.
But before he could say anything further, I raised my hand.
“Actually, don’t answer that. You’re right. That part belongs to Frank.”
Eliam nodded.
Then he began explaining what he could.
Several months earlier, Frank had contacted him about a problem with his computer.
