After those words, Linda lowered her head.
But Amy wasn’t finished.
She pulled a small envelope from her pocket.
“I wrote this when I was eight, after my teacher asked us to write a letter to the person we missed the most.”
She began reading.
“Dear Mom, I barely remember you. Sometimes I wonder if you left because I cried too much. I tried to be a good girl so that maybe one day you’d come back.”
Linda began sobbing.
Amy continued.
“But Dad told me I hadn’t done anything wrong. He explained that children aren’t responsible for adults’ mistakes. Now I know I don’t have to be perfect to deserve a mother.”
I remembered the night Amy had asked whether her mother would have stayed if she had been smarter or prettier.
That night, I held her close and told her that no child should ever have to earn their parents’ love.
