Chapter 12 - A Letter from Prison
A year later, an unexpected envelope arrived at our mailbox, postmarked from the federal correctional facility in Pensacola, Florida.
It was addressed simply to Nora Bennett.
I sat at my desk in my new studio at the Fairhope estate, staring at the envelope for a long moment before opening it with a letter opener.
Inside was a single page of lined yellow notebook paper written in Gavin’s distinctive handwriting:
Nora,
I’m writing this because the prison counselor suggested I make amends to the people I’ve wronged, though I know I don't deserve your forgiveness.
Every day in this cell, I sit and think about the night of Emily’s wedding. I thought I was showing off how successful I had become. I thought I was superior.
I was wrong about everything. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I threw you away because I was too foolish, arrogant, and greedy to see what true value was.
Seeing you with Daniel, seeing you as a mother to that little girl... it broke the last piece of vanity I had left. You didn't just survive without me, Nora. You thrived because you were finally free of me.
I’m sorry for every tear I made you cry.
Gavin
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I read the letter through once. I didn't feel anger. I didn't feel triumph. I simply felt a quiet, peaceful closure.
I folded the paper, placed it back in the envelope, and slid it into the bottom drawer of my desk, never to be opened again.
