I saw Gavin again two years after his release.<\/p>\n
Not by accident.<\/p>\n
Not exactly.<\/p>\n
Margaret asked.<\/p>\n
She did it badly.<\/p>\n
We were sitting in my kitchen while Lily, now eleven, attempted to teach Jupiter to balance a treat on his nose.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost dropped my coffee.<\/p>\n
Lily looked over.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret\u2019s face went pale.<\/p>\n
I recovered quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone from long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily lost interest.<\/p>\n
Jupiter sneezed the treat across the room.<\/p>\n
Crisis redirected.<\/p>\n
I motioned Margaret onto the porch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn front of Lily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
I breathed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo apologize in person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe already apologized.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wrote.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe spoke in court.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo why?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says he has one thing he needs to return himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
My body tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat thing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won\u2019t tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI expected that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I promised I would deliver the question.\u201d<\/p>\n
I crossed my arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cPromised him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds dangerously familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n
She flinched.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cI should have told him no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want me to tell him no now?\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost said yes.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Curiosity again.<\/p>\n
The same trait that had opened the storage receipt years earlier.<\/p>\n
Sometimes curiosity uncovers truth.<\/p>\n
Sometimes it drags old ghosts through the front door.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are the terms?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret looked surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re considering it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTerms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe suggested Daniel\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n
That helped.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo Ethan unless I choose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo request for future contact.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo emotional ambush.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do I define that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll tell Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I told Ethan, he did not immediately object.<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve already made rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fair.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes it bother you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor being bothered?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor saying it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like the idea of him sitting across from you again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t trust him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want to come?\u201d<\/p>\n
He thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was surprised again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if I\u2019m there, part of the conversation becomes about me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was right.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll wait nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meeting happened on a gray Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Daniel no longer maintained the same office suite, but he arranged a conference room at his new firm.<\/p>\n
When I arrived, Gavin was already there.<\/p>\n
I saw him through the glass before entering.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
Thinner.<\/p>\n
Gray now obvious through his hair.<\/p>\n
His posture had changed.<\/p>\n
Not defeated.<\/p>\n
Less performative.<\/p>\n
He stood when I entered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGavin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel sat at the far end.<\/p>\n
A neutral witness more than active counsel.<\/p>\n
I took the chair opposite Gavin.<\/p>\n
He did not smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t decided whether you\u2019re welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
He reached down beside his chair and lifted a small cardboard box.<\/p>\n
My irritation rose immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother box.\u201d<\/p>\n
A faint, embarrassed smile appeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He pushed it across.<\/p>\n
I did not touch it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father\u2019s watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My father had died when I was twenty-six.<\/p>\n
His watch disappeared years before I married Gavin.<\/p>\n
At least I thought it had.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin opened the box.<\/p>\n
Inside lay an old stainless-steel watch.<\/p>\n
Scratched face.<\/p>\n
Brown leather band replaced at some point.<\/p>\n
My father\u2019s initials engraved on the back.<\/p>\n
My hands went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was in my father\u2019s desk.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStart again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter my father died, we moved boxes from his office into Mom\u2019s basement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne box contained old construction items, receipts, watches, things customers left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found this after I got out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would my father\u2019s watch be there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Richard repaired it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That triggered a memory.<\/p>\n
My father once took an old watch to someone who \u201cknew a man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Was that Richard?<\/p>\n
My father and Gavin\u2019s father had met years before our marriage through local business circles.<\/p>\n
I had forgotten.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Richard repair watches?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. But one of his suppliers did. He sometimes carried things back and forth.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked closer.<\/p>\n
The leather strap was unfamiliar.<\/p>\n
The face was unmistakable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did no one return it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know it was mine?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until I saw the initials.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father\u2019s initials.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou talked about the watch once.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n
Early marriage.<\/p>\n
I told him my father wore it every day.<\/p>\n
That after his death I searched everywhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you find it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou kept it eighteen months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not dodge.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I wanted a reason to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Honest.<\/p>\n
Selfish.<\/p>\n
Clean.<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy counselor asked me whether returning something required the other person to participate in my remorse.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was a good counselor.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo why are we here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I failed that test first.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at the watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept it too long.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
I finally reached for it.<\/p>\n
The metal felt cool.<\/p>\n
He had wound it.<\/p>\n
The second hand moved.<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes it work?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. I had it serviced.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked sharply at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou changed something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe internal mechanism needed cleaning. Nothing visible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you should have returned it as it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that now too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strangely, the admission prevented anger from growing.<\/p>\n
I turned the watch over.<\/p>\n
My father\u2019s initials.<\/p>\n
Real.<\/p>\n
No fraud.<\/p>\n
No hidden contract.<\/p>\n
Just an object lost for decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not send it through Margaret?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to give it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He accepted the correction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was about me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
I put the watch beside my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that everything?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one question.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
He watched quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you happy?\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what you asked me here for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the last time I saw you before court, I realized I had spent years needing an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat answer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether leaving me ruined you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I have no right to details.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to know whether you\u2019re happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I considered refusing.<\/p>\n
Then wondered why.<\/p>\n
Not every boundary requires silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes filled.<\/p>\n
He looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was all.<\/p>\n
No visible collapse.<\/p>\n
No dramatic regret.<\/p>\n
Just good.<\/p>\n
I studied him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about you?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question surprised him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you happy?\u201d<\/p>\n
He thought for a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That felt more credible than yes.<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWarehouse?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOperations supervisor now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have an apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom visits too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds right.\u201d<\/p>\n
He almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI go to counseling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire still yells at me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso sounds right.\u201d<\/p>\n
The smile grew slightly.<\/p>\n
Then disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not dating.\u201d<\/p>\n
I raised a hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need that information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Not awkward exactly.<\/p>\n
Just old.<\/p>\n
I looked at the man across from me and searched for the feeling I expected.<\/p>\n
Anger?<\/p>\n
Love?<\/p>\n
Grief?<\/p>\n
Triumph?<\/p>\n
Almost nothing came.<\/p>\n
He had once occupied enormous space inside me.<\/p>\n
Now he was a person I knew deeply and did not belong to.<\/p>\n
That may have been closure after all.<\/p>\n
Not an ending.<\/p>\n
Proportion.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wrote something in your prison letter,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I had stopped giving up myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hated that sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face fell.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot because it was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
He waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause part of me still wanted the decision to leave to have been entirely mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I understand now that you leaving forced a door open.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut walking through it was mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat distinction matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad you walked.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence could have sounded self-serving.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Maybe because he did not say I\u2019m glad I left you.<\/p>\n
He said I\u2019m glad you walked.<\/p>\n
Different.<\/p>\n
I picked up my father\u2019s watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t meet again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin nodded immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want letters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo gifts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo messages through Margaret unless something legally necessary happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you find another object\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
His face twisted with embarrassed humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll send it through Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
Gavin stood too.<\/p>\n
For one second, it looked like he might offer his hand.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Good decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoodbye, Nora.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGoodbye, Gavin.\u201d<\/p>\n
I walked out.<\/p>\n
Ethan waited in a coffee shop across the street.<\/p>\n
He stood when he saw me.<\/p>\n
His eyes went to the watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I explained.<\/p>\n
All of it.<\/p>\n
The repair.<\/p>\n
The delay.<\/p>\n
Gavin wanting a reason to see me.<\/p>\n
The question about happiness.<\/p>\n
When I finished, Ethan looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you feel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnnoyed that everyone keeps asking.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then I looked at the watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cStrange.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBad strange?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cComplete.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the closest word.<\/p>\n
We drove home.<\/p>\n
Lily sat at the dining table doing homework.<\/p>\n
She saw the watch immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt belonged to my dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I see?\u201d<\/p>\n
I handed it to her.<\/p>\n
She studied the scratches.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s old.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean cool old.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes it work?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you wear it?\u201d<\/p>\n
I tried.<\/p>\n
The band was too large.<\/p>\n
Ethan said, \u201cWe can have it resized.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk before touching family artifacts.\u201d<\/p>\n
He raised both hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee? Growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily rolled her eyes.<\/p>\n
We took the watch to a jeweler together.<\/p>\n
I approved a new hole in the strap.<\/p>\n
Nothing more.<\/p>\n
Afterward, I wore it.<\/p>\n
The first day felt strange.<\/p>\n
By the third, it became simply a watch.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
One evening, Margaret noticed it.<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard had that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She touched the edge lightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father giving it to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was before you and Gavin even dated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Long before all of it.<\/p>\n
The object belonged to an older web of relationships none of us fully remembered.<\/p>\n
Life existed before our defining stories.<\/p>\n
That humbled me.<\/p>\n
That night, I took the watch off and placed it beside the bed.<\/p>\n
Ethan was reading.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood meeting?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re allowed to say that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat made it good?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
He closed the book.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds contradictory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the point.\u201d<\/p>\n
I saw Gavin.<\/p>\n
He apologized.<\/p>\n
Returned something.<\/p>\n
Asked a question.<\/p>\n
Then I came home.<\/p>\n
No new investigation.<\/p>\n
No collapse.<\/p>\n
No hidden file.<\/p>\n
No need to reinterpret my life.<\/p>\n
The meeting was not a turning point.<\/p>\n
My life no longer required turning points from him.<\/p>\n
I lay down.<\/p>\n
Ethan turned off the lamp.<\/p>\n
In the dark, I heard Jupiter scratching at the bedroom door.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scratch.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scratch.<\/p>\n
Ethan sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll get him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re weak.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s emotionally persuasive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jupiter climbed onto the bed five minutes later.<\/p>\n
Lily had trained him well.<\/p>\n
I fell asleep smiling.<\/p>\n
I saw Gavin again two years after his release. Not by accident. Not exactly. Margaret asked. She did it badly. We were sitting in my kitchen while Lily, now eleven, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22648,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22613\/revisions\/22648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}