Her answer surprised me.
“The ring was supposed to say something else.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“Two days before Dad died, he went to a jeweler. He told me he was having the inside engraved for your anniversary.”
“What was it supposed to say?”
Claire swallowed.
“FORTY YEARS. STILL YOU.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
“The next morning, we fought,” she continued.
“About Eli?”
“Yes.”
“He said that if I didn’t tell you, he would.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told him he had no right to threaten me after helping me hide Eli for all those years.”
Fair point.
“He became angry and left the house for several hours.”
“The jeweler?”
Claire nodded.
“When Dad collapsed the next morning, the ring wasn’t on his finger. I found the jeweler’s receipt in his pocket and collected the ring later.”
“You saw the warning?”
“Yes.”
“And you still sent the ring to me?”
Claire lowered her eyes.
“I almost didn’t.”
That was the first thing she had said all day that I completely believed.
“Why did you?”
“Because I thought he wanted you to know.”
I watched her for a long moment.
“You also told me he had been cremated with his ring.”
“I panicked.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“Again.”
“Yes.”
She twisted her hands together.
“You asked where his wedding ring was while I was arranging the cremation. I hadn’t collected it from the jeweler yet. I knew that if I told you where it was, you would ask why.”
I said nothing.
“So I told you it had gone with him. The words came out before I could think of anything better.”
“You could have corrected yourself later.”
“I know.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No.”
Her explanation did not make the lie smaller.
It only made it human enough for me to understand how the lie had happened.
Then a voice came from the hallway.
“Is Grandpa mad at Mom?”
