She looked at him then, really looked. The museum light was soft and high. The twins stood on either side of her like anchors.
“No,” she said. “I think you loved me as long as love did not require you to feel small.”
His face changed with the impact of accuracy. Some people break under blame. Julian always broke more under clear description.
“I didn’t mean for it to go that far.”
“Yes,” she said quietly. “You did.”
He had no answer.
And because this was not court, not television, not a room where performance would help either of them, the silence simply stayed.
Finally he looked at the boys again. “I’m trying,” he said, though whether to them or himself was unclear.
Elias, unexpectedly, asked, “Trying what?”
Julian blinked.
“To fix things,” he said.
Children are merciless because they are literal. Elias frowned slightly. “You can’t fix every kind.”
Julian shut his eyes for a brief second.
Eleanor put a hand on Elias’s shoulder. “Come on. The new exhibit is upstairs.”
She guided them past Julian and toward the staircase. None of them looked back.