Walter’s face blurred across the table.
“He wasn’t afraid?”
Walter shook his head.
“Not for himself.”
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“At the end?”
He nodded.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Was he alone?”
“No.”
That answer released something inside me I had carried for more than half a century.
“He wasn’t alone?”
“No.”
Walter’s voice trembled.
“I was there.”
I cried harder.Metals & Mining
“He said your name.”
I covered my face.
“How?”
Walter waited.
Then:
“He told me not to forget.”
I looked at him.
“The ring?”
“You.”
That was when my anger returned.
Maybe it had to.
Because grief that large needed somewhere to go.
I stood.
“Get out.”
Walter nodded.
“Margaret—”
“Get out.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Not today.”
He picked up his cap.
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“But I deserve that.”
“Get out, Walter.”
He walked to the door.
