Sophie looked thoughtful.
“But I should be allowed to decide.”
“Yes.”
Emma paused.
“And I want to apologize if there have ever been times when I made decisions without giving you enough room to ask questions.”
Sophie smiled.
“Mum, you've always answered my questions.”
“I've tried.”
“Even when they made you cry.”
Emma laughed softly.
“Especially those.”
Sophie looked back at the photograph.
“I don't know whether I want to meet her.”
“That's all right.”
“I might want to someday.”
“That's all right, too.”
“And if I never do?”
Emma squeezed her hand.
“Then we will respect that.”
The conversation did not end with a dramatic revelation or an immediate decision.
Instead, they made dinner.
They talked about university.
Sophie complained about an examination question she could not solve.
Emma helped her think through it.
Life continued.
And Emma understood that this was precisely why honesty mattered.
A difficult truth did not have to destroy everything that came afterward.
