But it let air back into the room.
That evening, my parents returned to their bedroom.
I helped Dad carry his books in.
Derek moved the narrow beds out of the storage room.
When he carried the second one past me, we nearly collided in the doorway.
“Remember when you broke my nose with the basketball?”
he asked.
“You walked into my elbow.”
“You threw the elbow backward.”
“I was demonstrating defensive positioning.”
“You were twelve.”
“You were annoying.”
He almost smiled.
Then his expression sobered.
“Gabriel.”
“What?”
“I really am sorry.”
I studied him.
“For which part?”
“All of it.”
“That’s too easy.”
“I know.”
He rested the bedframe against the wall.
“So tell me the hard version.”
I thought about that.
“The hard version is you don’t get to fix this in one conversation.”
He nodded.
“You don’t get to repay the money and act like that settles it.”
