Sweetheart, it was a dream.”
“No,” Harry whispered. “I remember.”
Andrew stayed still.
Harry’s breathing shook.
“You were there when Grandma took me. You said it was only for a little while. You said Dad needed time to calm down.”
Mary’s lips parted.
“Harry, trauma can create false memories.”
“You said I would come home soon,” Harry said. “But I didn’t.”
Mary stepped forward.
Andrew held up one hand.
“Don’t.”
Harry’s voice grew louder.
“I heard you fighting about money. I heard you say the insurance would cover it. I heard you say I looked fine.”
Mary’s composure cracked.
Just enough.
“I was trying to help,” she said.
The room went completely still.
Andrew looked at her.
“Help who?”
Mary looked from Andrew to Harry.
Her lawyer had probably told her to say nothing.
But Mary had always believed she could explain anything.
“I thought it would be temporary,” she said. “Betty said she could keep him safe until things settled. We had bills. We were drowning. You were falling apart. The insurance money gave us time.”
Harry stared at her.
Andrew reached into his pocket and pressed record on his phone.
Mary kept talking.
“I thought if you believed he was really gone, you could move on. Heal. Start over. Then too much time passed, and we couldn’t just bring him back. How would we explain it?”
Andrew’s voice was quiet.
“You were never going to bring him back.”
Mary’s face crumpled.
“I didn’t know how anymore.”
Harry whispered, “You left me there.”
Mary covered her mouth.
“I loved you.”
