I was a jerk on Friday, Daniel said. Everything I said all of it. I was a jerk. I saw Claire and I Daniel stopped darted again. I don't have a good excuse.
I saw something real and I didn't handle it. His voice was flat in a way that suggested this cost him. She looks happy. She looked. I haven't seen her look like that in a while.
She is, Ethan said simply. Yeah, a beat. You're a lucky man. I know. I'm sorry for what I said about.
He paused. About your wife. That was He didn't finish the sentence, which was maybe the most honest thing he could have done because there wasn't a word that covered it and they both knew it. I'm sorry. Ethan was quiet for a moment.
He thought about 4 years of weight. He thought about what Clare had said about carrying things. He thought about the difference between forgiveness as a gift to someone else and forgiveness as a thing you did to put something down. Okay, he said. That's it.
What else do you want me to say? A pause. I don't know. I guess I expected more. I don't have more.
Ethan said. You said a cruel thing. You know it was cruel. You apologized. I'm not going to perform more than I have.
His voice was even not cold. Just honest. Take care of yourself, Daniel. He ended the call. He sat with the phone in his hand for a moment, then he set it down.
Lighter. She'd been right. It was lighter. He texted Clare. He called.
Three dots. He apologized. I accepted. It's done. A longer pause this time.