Instead, I felt an overwhelming sadness.
Sarah had not hated me.
She had simply become so focused on filling the emptiness in her own life that she stopped seeing what she was taking from mine.
Darren Had Helped It Happen
Darren arrived home while we were still talking.
He had heard enough from the hallway to understand what had been said.
At first, he stood silently in the doorway.
Then he looked at me.
“I helped create this.”
Sarah lowered her head.
Darren admitted that whenever she attended another event, solved another problem, or became more involved in Emma’s life, he praised her.
When Sarah worried that she was taking over too much, he reassured her.
He told her I was busy.
He told her I would not mind.
He said Emma needed consistency.
He forwarded school emails to Sarah because it was convenient. He encouraged her to volunteer whenever he could not attend. He laughed at my concerns because accepting them would have required him to acknowledge his own behavior.
