I replied: “Thank you for telling me.”
He called the next morning, as promised.
Three days later, he came back with Maya and a written breakdown of their expenses.
“I should’ve done this before asking,” he said.
I looked through the figures.
“We can start with the girls’ supplies. I’ll go shopping with you, Maya.”
Maya smiled. “That would help us so much.”
Julian looked at me.
“And I’ll work out the rest,” he said. “I’ve asked about extra shifts.”
“Good. Your daughters need you to be dependable.”
He nodded.
Then he surprised me.
“I kept expecting you to be so relieved I came home that everything else wouldn’t matter.”
“I am relieved, Julian. But I spent three years blaming myself for losing you.”
“I made the choice to stay away.”
“Yes, you did.”
He looked down.
“I was selfish. I kept putting off the call because I was scared of what you’d say.”
