Constance saw them approaching and came from behind the desk with a warmth that made Matilda smile before either of them spoke. She asked about school, complimented the repaired rabbit, and offered breakfast from the nearby cafe. Matilda said she had already eaten but would like a little water, and Constance brought it without making the request seem important or burdensome. Dante noticed that a young family waiting nearby had been offered the same thing.
They went to the long bench where they had sat on the morning of the Blackridge meeting. It had not been replaced, and the faint mark on one leg remained where somebody's suitcase had struck it years earlier. Matilda climbed onto the cushion, settled the rabbit on her lap, and waited while Dante sat beside her. For several minutes they watched people enter, sign in, and receive directions from staff who now seemed more interested in helping than in sorting visitors by their clothes.
"Daddy," Matilda asked, "why did you want to sit here again?"
Dante rested an arm along the back of the bench, taking care not to speak as though she were too young to understand. "Because sometimes a place where something unkind happened can become a place where we remember what we learned," he said. "I don't want you to hate the people who work here. I want you to remember that when somebody fails to see your worth, you must not forget it yourself."
Matilda looked down at the stuffed rabbit and traced the uneven stitching in its ear. "Like Mommy fixed this," she said. Dante smiled and told her that Rosalind had believed broken things deserved careful attention when they could be repaired. His daughter considered that and asked whether some people were harder to repair than toys.
"People have to decide to change," Dante answered. "We can help them, but we can't make that decision for them. And when they hurt others, they still have to take responsibility for what they did." Matilda seemed to find this satisfactory, though she looked toward the conference room with a small crease between her eyebrows.
Calista appeared at the edge of the lobby a few minutes later. She wore a simple deep blue dress, her hair softly tied back, and carried a folder of project reports rather than the polished presentation materials she used to favor. She stopped when she saw Dante and Matilda on the bench, uncertain whether her presence would make the child's visit more difficult. Dante met her eyes and gave a small nod, leaving Matilda free to decide whether she wanted to speak.
Calista approached slowly and lowered herself until she was at the child's eye level. She did not begin by describing her new role or listing the improvements the company had made. "Matilda, I was here the last time you came," she said. "I saw somebody hurt your feelings, and I didn't protect you. I spoke to your father as if he had done something wrong when he was trying to take care of you. I'm sorry."