Clara
My father attended Diane's funeral alone, standing slightly apart from the rest of the mourners despite being her husband of over thirty years, and I watched him from across the gathered crowd, understanding, with a clarity I hadn't expected, exactly how isolated his own choices had left him.
He approached me afterward, hesitant in a way I'd never once seen from Richard Bennett in my entire life. "Clara. Thank you for coming. I know things between us haven't been simple."
"She was still my mother," I said. "Whatever else was true between us, I wasn't going to miss saying goodbye to her."
"Of course." He shifted uncomfortably, glancing toward Ethan, who stood a respectful distance away, giving us privacy despite his obvious protective instinct. "I understand congratulations are in
