Chapter 13 - THE FAMILY DIVIDES
The extended Hale family split into camps.
Some said:
Rebecca made a terrible mistake.
Others said:
Mistake?
She planned it.
One cousin told Arthur:
“You should forgive her before this destroys the family.”
Arthur answered:
“It already changed the family.”
Not the same thing.
Forgiveness could not restore the old structure automatically.
Claire supported no contact.
Michael struggled.
Rebecca had been his favorite aunt.
He remembered fishing trips.
Graduation gifts.
Her staying with him after his first divorce.
He asked Arthur:
“Can someone do something unforgivable and still have been good to you?”
Arthur thought.
“Yes.”
That answer helped.
People are not one act.
Some acts still require permanent boundaries.
Michael wrote Rebecca a letter.
He did not send it.
Then, months later, sent a shorter version:
I love who you were to me. I cannot have contact right now.
Rebecca replied through counsel:
I understand.
No manipulation.
No emergency.
May you like
No demand.
That was the first thing she did that made Arthur believe change might someday be possible.
