He had been recording things for you and Daniel, whenever he felt well enough.
He asked me to keep the tapes dry, keep them safe and deliver them when you were older.”
“For both of us?”
Gabriel nodded.
“Some were for you.
Some for Daniel.
Some were for anyone willing to listen.”
I looked toward the hall where Mom’s photographs still hung.
There was one of Dad holding me on his shoulders, his face half hidden behind my enormous grin.
My throat hurt.
“Mom knew?”
“She learned about them after the funeral.”
“And she kept them from us.”
“Yes,” Gabriel said, quietly enough that I believed he understood the weight of the admission.
PART 4 (THE END)
I stared at Gabriel, struggling to understand how my mother could have hidden such an important part of our lives.
“Why did she keep the tapes from us?”
“Because listening to your father hurt too much,” Gabriel answered. “And because she was afraid you would blame her for not being able to save him.”
