“Why?”
“He wanted you to know he had not forgotten his promise. He said he was sorry he had never found you sooner.”
I was crying now.
“He asked you to tell me that?”
“Yes.”
“And you came here pretending to be him?”
His face twisted.
“I did not plan to.”
“Then explain it.”
He looked toward the floor.
“I found your bakery online. I came to tell you the truth.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I watched you for three days first.”
My anger flared through the grief.
“You watched me?”
“I was afraid. I did not know how to walk into your life and tell you Leo was dead. I sat across the street. I saw you laughing with customers. I saw you carrying boxes out to an old woman’s car. I saw you close the shop alone every night.”
“That does not explain the lie.”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
