I waited.
At last, she said:
“I’m sorry the evening became unpleasant.”
Maria lifted her head.
Charles closed the box.
“That isn’t what you did.”
Bianca looked at me.
As though I should protect her from being corrected.
I didn’t.
She turned away.
I asked Patrick to leave once his car arrived.
Then I asked Maria to arrange a room where Charles could sit quietly before going home.
My ten minutes were almost finished.
For once, I intended to keep the promise exactly.
Oliver sat on the sofa beside Francesca.
A glass of water stood untouched near his knee.
When I entered, he looked at the clock.
“You came.”
“I said I would.”
He nodded.
I sat beside him.
For a moment, I didn’t speak.
Then he asked:
“Who broke it?”
“Patrick dropped it.”
“Did he say sorry?”
“Yes.”
Oliver looked down.
“Will he have to stand there?”
I understood.
“No.”
“Because he’s grown up?”
I took a breath.
“He should have told the truth immediately. Nobody should have made you stand in front of everyone.”
The boy rubbed his palms against his trousers.
“I was scared you’d think I lied.”
“I should have made it clearer that I was listening.”
“You asked her.”
“I did.”
“But you didn’t say stop.”
He was right.
I could have argued that I was gathering facts.
That I had not believed the accusation.
That everything happened quickly.
Instead, I said:
“I should have stopped it.”
Oliver leaned back.
He didn’t forgive me on command.
He didn’t say it was all right.
