I’m not able to give out personal contact information.”
“I understand.
Could you pass along a message?
Just my name and number.
She can decide whether to call back.”
Another pause.
“I can try.”
I left my number and hung up.
She called back that same afternoon.
“This is Diane.” Her voice was cautious.
Quiet.
“You said it was important.”
“Yes.
I’m sorry to contact you this way.
My name is Sarah.
I was married to Mark.”
The silence that followed was long enough that I checked the phone to make sure the call was still connected.
“I see,” she finally said.
“He passed away four days ago.
He left me a letter.
He told me about Daniel.”
Another silence.
“I’m not calling to cause any trouble,” I said quickly.
“I’m not angry at you.
I want to be clear about that.
Whatever happened between you and Mark — that’s between you and him.
I’m calling because he asked me to make sure Daniel wasn’t alone, and I didn’t know how to do that without talking to you first.”
When Diane spoke again, her voice had changed.
Something in it had loosened.
“He told you to call me.”
“He wrote it in the letter.
He said you were sick.”
“I had surgery last month.
I’m recovering.
It’s — I’ll be okay.
It’s just been a hard few weeks.”
“Do you have people around you?”
“My neighbor has been helping with Daniel.
And my friend Karen.
We’re managing.”
“Okay.” I exhaled slowly.
“I’m glad.”
“Can I ask you something?” Diane said.
“Yes.”
“Did you know?
Before the letter?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry.” And she sounded it — genuinely, without qualification.
“I thought about reaching out to him when I found out he was sick.
I didn’t know if it would make things worse.”
“It might have,” I said honestly.
“I don’t know.”
“He never met Daniel,” she said.
“I want you to know that.
I’m not — I wasn’t trying to hide Daniel from him exactly, but after a while it felt like the window had closed.
And then I heard he had gotten married, and I thought —” She stopped.
“I don’t know what I thought.”
“Can I ask what Daniel knows?”
“He knows his father was sick and that he passed away.
He doesn’t know much more than that.
