Chapter 21: Asking

Keith's POV

I had never given a speech in my life.

I had presented pipe-replacement budgets to a city council, which is not the same thing.

Thirty strangers looked at me over a counter full of carnations, and Darcy's hand found my wrist beneath it.

"Most of you have seen the video," I said. "Some of you have seen the photographs. I'd like to tell you what's true."

Nobody moved.

"My wife made a serious mistake. When I put it in front of her, she ended it that same hour."

I felt her breathe in.

"She has spent two years living with what it cost."

Her fingers tightened.

"I was angry for a long time, and I handled it badly."

I looked at Darcy, not at them.

"I decided things for her that were hers to decide. That part is on me, and I'm saying so in front of you."

A woman near the window nodded slowly.

"Milo and June are four years old."

My voice stayed level, because it had to.

"A man who never called them has told the country they belong to him. They don't. They belong to our house, with the dinosaur book and the red boot."

I took a breath.

"I signed their birth certificates, and I'd sign them again tonight."

Somebody started to clap.

I raised a hand.

"I'm not finished. If you have something to say about my wife, say it to me."

I shrugged.

"I'm easy to find. I work for the water department."

A man in the back laughed out loud.

"But if you came to buy flowers, she's the best florist in Columbus, and her tulips are the right price."

The clapping came back, louder, and this time I let it.

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