He seemed to feel it too because he lowered the pages slightly.
“I’m sorry,” Noah said. “I didn’t know he was going to do this.”
The son shook his head.
“You don’t have anything to apologize for.”
His voice was rough from the service.
Noah glanced at the envelope again.
“I don’t want this to feel like I’m taking something from you.”
That sentence made Mr. Vance’s daughter close her eyes for a moment.
When she opened them, she said, “You aren’t.”
Noah didn’t answer immediately.
Neither did I.
There are moments when adults have the urge to fill every uncomfortable space with explanations, but this one did not need another speech.
Mr. Vance had made a choice while he was still alive.
The attorney had carried it out.
Now Noah had to decide what the letter meant to him.
He looked down and continued reading.
