Chapter 13 - THE QUESTION I NEVER EXPECTED
Two years after I left Chicago, Dante asked me a question.
Not through Miriam.
Not in a letter.
Face-to-face.
We were sitting on the porch of the little blue house.
Isabella was asleep inside.
The ocean moved quietly beyond the dunes.
Dante looked nervous.
"Elena."
I turned.
"Yes?"
"Would you ever consider giving us another chance?"
I stared at him.
For a moment, the world seemed to stop.
Then I looked away.
"Dante."
"I know."
He raised a hand.
"I know I don't deserve one."
I sighed.
"That's not the question."
He looked at me.
"Then what is?"
I took a breath.
"Do I want to?"
Dante went silent.
I continued.
"I spent years being afraid to disappoint you."
His expression changed.
"I know."
"I lost pieces of myself trying to keep our marriage together."
He looked down.
"And when I finally left, I had to learn who I was again."
Dante nodded.
"I understand."
I looked at him.
"Do you?"
He hesitated.
Then said:
"I'm trying."
I smiled sadly.
"That's honest."
For a long time, neither spoke.
Then I said:
"I don't know."
Dante looked up.
I continued.
"And I won't promise anything."
He nodded.
"I won't ask you to."
I looked toward the ocean.
For the first time, the possibility of a future with Dante didn't feel like a trap.
May you like
It felt like a question.
And I was allowed to decide the answer.
