Chapter 19 - THE TRUTH HOPE COULD CARRY
Khloe told Hope the story in stages.
At five, she explained that her father lived far away because he made unsafe choices.
At seven, she explained that another woman pushed Khloe while Hope was still inside her.
At ten, Hope asked the question Khloe had feared.
“Did Daddy want me?”
Khloe sat beside her on the window seat.
“He wanted the idea of you.”
“What does that mean?”
“He wanted a child who made him feel successful.”
“But being a father requires caring about what a child needs.”
“He did not know how to do that safely.”
Hope looked down at her hands.
“Is that why he has never met me?”
“Yes.”
“Do you hate him?”
Khloe thought carefully.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Hate would make him part of every day.”
“I prefer boundaries.”
Hope nodded.
“Can I read his letters?”
“When you are ready.”
“I think I’m ready for one.”
Khloe selected a letter Richard wrote after six years in prison.
It contained fewer excuses than the others.
Richard admitted he watched the ambulance leave and thought first about cameras.
Hope read that sentence twice.
Then she folded the paper.
“I don’t want another one today.”
“That is okay.”
“Can I write back?”
“Yes.”
“You do not have to.”
Hope wrote three lines.
I know who you are.
I am safe.
Do not ask me to make you feel better.
Richard never responded.
May you like
Perhaps his attorney advised silence.
Perhaps he finally understood that Hope’s words were not an invitation.
