Chapter 12 - Eleanor's Confession Later that week, Eleanor asked Stallone to meet her at a small coffee shop.
She arrived early.
That alone surprised him.
“I found another photograph,” she said.
She placed it on the table.
It showed Eleanor as a little girl.
Stallone studied it.
“You look lonely.”
“I was.”
She looked out the window.
“My father wasn't cruel all the time.”
Stallone said nothing.
“He could be funny. He told terrible jokes.”
She smiled.
“But when he was angry, everyone knew.”
“Did he hit you?”
“No.”
A pause.
“He made people afraid in other ways.”
Eleanor's fingers tightened around the cup.
“I spent my whole life telling myself I was different from him.”
“You are.”
“Not always.”
She looked down.
“I thought if I made children tough, they'd never feel powerless.”
Stallone leaned back.
“But you never asked whether you were teaching strength or fear.”
Eleanor nodded.
“I'm asking now.”
“That's a start.”
“Is it enough?”
He looked at her.
“That depends what you do with the answer.”
For once, Eleanor didn't argue.
She simply nodded.
Outside, people hurried past the window.
May you like
Nobody knew what was happening inside.
Nobody knew that an old woman was finally confronting the little girl she had buried inside herself.
Related Stories
