He’d watched them through the doorbell camera.
Claire rang the bell twice.
Daniel stood beside her, holding her hand.
They waited.
My voice trembled.
“And what did you do?”
Richard’s face crumpled.
“I stood inside.”
I felt my blood turn cold.
“Inside where?”
“Behind the front door.”
“You mean they were standing outside, and you were home?”
He nodded slowly.
“My hand was on the lock.”
I stared at him.
“Then why didn’t you open it?”
Richard began to cry.
“Because I was too proud.”
His voice broke.
“I’d told Claire never to come back. I couldn’t bring myself to admit I was wrong.”
I stepped away from the bed.
For a moment, the hospital room seemed to spin.
My son and daughter-in-law had driven ninety miles hoping to mend a broken relationship.
And Richard had left them standing outside.
“They died on the road that night,” I whispered.
