Richard nodded slowly.
"And Diane?"
"Diane has to decide whether being right matters more than being close to her daughter. You can't make that decision for her."
The conference room door opened slightly. Margaret looked in.
"Sorry. Procurement needs Harold for ten minutes."
Richard started gathering his papers.
Harold stopped him.
"Leave the proposal. We'll finish after lunch."
Richard looked surprised.
"I thought this was over."
"Why would it be?"
"Because we've spent forty minutes talking about my family."
"And now we're going to spend another hour talking about your bid. Try to keep up."
Richard laughed despite himself.
When he left Brookstone headquarters that afternoon, he did not know whether his company would win the contract.
For the first time in two years, that uncertainty did not feel like the most important thing he carried home.
Diane was in the kitchen when he arrived.
She had spent the day doing something no one in her family could remember her doing voluntarily.
Nothing.
No committees. No club lunch. No calls about flowers or seating or charitable events. She had canceled everything and sat at the breakfast table with her phone turned face down.
When Richard entered, she looked at him immediately.
"Well?"
"The proposal is still under review."
Diane blinked. "That's all?"
"That's all."
"He didn't cancel the meeting?"
"No."
"He didn't threaten the contract?"
"No."
"What did he say about me?"
Richard set his briefcase on a chair.
"A lot."
Diane looked away.
"I suppose I deserve that."
"He wasn't cruel."
That seemed to bother her more.
Richard took off his coat.
"He asked whether I understood the difference between regretting what happened and regretting that it happened to someone powerful."
Diane went very still.
"What did you say?"
"That I did."
"Do you?"
Richard gave a tired smile. "Apparently everyone in our lives has decided to ask me difficult questions this week."
Diane did not smile back.
"Do you?"
He sat across from her.
"I'm starting to."
She nodded.
A long silence settled between them.