“I thought it was time to apologize.”

Joanna stiffened. “You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

“Not me. You.” Was that too direct? No. “It’s time you apologized to me.”

“For what?”

“Are you kidding? You just left! Without saying anything. Without giving me a reason.”

Joanna was breathing fast. “It’s been more than twenty years, Mel—”

“Yes, I admit the apology is long overdue but that doesn’t make it any less necessary.” She realized that all the emotion she’d felt hadn’t gone anywhere. It was still there, stored away for a time just like this. “We were best friends, Joanna! We did everything together. You were like a sister to me. There wasn’t a thought either of us had that we didn’t share. And then you fell in love with my brother, and yes, that made things a bit more complicated and it didn’t turn out the way any of us would have wanted it to, but I don’t understand why that had to take our friendship down, too. I don’t see why I had to be collateral damage. Was it because you thought I wouldn’t forgive you for ditching my brother?”

The silence was long.

Eventually Joanna spoke. “That’s why you came here? To yell at me? Dredge up the past?”

“I didn’t mean to yell, but this was huge for me. I thought it would be huge for you, too.” She was embarrassed by her own lack of control and the contrast between her emotional response and Joanna’s composure. “You ghosted me. Who the hell does that—?” She choked on the words, drowning under the tide of emotion. “How could you just walk away? Didn’t you miss me? I missed you. I hurt. Badly. And it’s never gone away, Joanna. Not for me. And maybe it’s because I don’t understand what happened. And yes, it’s been a long time, but if I did something or said something that made you want to cut me from your life, then I want to know. Even after all this time, I want to know. It would help.” Would it help? She had no idea.

“It wasn’t about you.”

“If that’s true, then why didn’t we stay in touch?”

Joanna straightened her shoulders. “Because I couldn’t.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t?” Mel had waited too long for this conversation to leave it at that. “You physically couldn’t? Someone stole your phone? You lost my number? Cliff wouldn’t let you? What?” She was shouting. What was wrong with her? She was standing in a driveway, screaming at someone she hadn’t seen in years. It was inappropriate. Disproportionate. But she couldn’t help it. It was how she felt. The emotional side of her was having a party and she couldn’t stop it.