«You know, Grandpa,» Bridget put her head on my shoulder, as she used to do when she was a child, «sometimes I think that everything turned out exactly as it should have. If it weren’t for that dinner, that argument, maybe you’d still be living in the annex, unhappy and lonely.»
«And now?»
«And now I’m finally living a full life,» I finished for her. «Even if I paid a high price for it.»
She nodded and we fell silent, looking out the window at the falling snow, the first of the season. I thought about my journey, about losses and gains, about how sometimes you have to lose something valuable to find yourself.
I thought about Miriam, who seemed to have foreseen all this, about her last words, «Don’t let them take your dignity away.» I kept the promise I made to her. And although the journey was difficult, the result was worth it.
I was no longer a shadow, no longer a burden, no longer a person for whom others made decisions. I was Cedric Hall, a man who, at 67, found the strength to start a new life.
There will probably never be reconciliation with Parker. The wounds are too deep, the resentment too strong. But maybe with time, understanding will come. Maybe someday he will realize that I was not fighting against him, but for myself.
For now I have everything I need: a roof over my head that no one can take away from me, a granddaughter who looks at me with love and respect, friends who support me in difficult times, and a woman with whom I can share the twilight of my life. This is not a perfect, fairytale happy ending. This is life, with all its complexities, compromises and losses. But this is my life, and I am finally living it on my own terms.
