“Could we maybe go for a walk?” I ask Benjamin after we all finish eating. I should probably help them clean up, but I really need to speak with him.
“Sure,” he says, looking a little surprised that I asked. He stands and walks around the table, offering his arm to me. I take it and he leads me over to the line of trees where the woods become thicker.
“I’m trying my best,” I say quietly to him.
“I didn’t expect you to stay here,” he says. “I think, perhaps, I misjudged.”
“I think, perhaps, that you don’t know me,” I say, looking up at him. “I’m not the little girl you left. That little girl was locked away. I had to become who I am, and you just don’t know that person.”
He sighs a little, placing his hand over mine on his arm. “You’re right, but I’d like to get to know you.”
