I felt nothing immediate. That surprised me more than satisfaction would have. It turned out revenge, when translated into procedural law and signed forms, was much quieter than imagination.
“What about Tiffany?” I asked.
Margaret’s tone shifted minutely. “She lost the pregnancy in the second trimester.”
My eyes closed.
It was a terrible thing. It was also not my fault. Both realities existed at once, and adulthood, I had learned, required carrying contradictory truths without using one to erase the other.
“She gave an interview to no one,” Margaret added dryly. “Which is to say she has been telling anyone who will listen that stress caused by your cruelty ruined her life. Unfortunately for her, she attached herself publicly to a man who forged documents and stole from his fiancée. Sympathy is limited.”
“And my parents?”
“Embarrassed. Financially strained. Socially diminished. Your father’s consulting venture did not materialize without your collateral. Your mother is furious at everyone, including gravity.”
That made me smile for the first time all day.
Seasons changed.