Richard Starts Over
Chapter 18 - Richard Starts Over
Richard lost his company.
He sold his house.
His wife separated from him.
For months, he lived in a small apartment.
Then he took a job.
Not as an executive.
As a project manager for another firm.
He earned less than he had in twenty years.
For the first time, he knew exactly where every dollar came from.
He began repaying what he could.
Slowly.
Diane did not forgive him quickly.
Neither did his children.
But Richard stopped demanding forgiveness.
He showed up.
He apologized.
He waited.
One afternoon, he visited Eleanor at the lake house.
“I found something.”
He handed her an old photograph.
Thomas and Eleanor.
Young.
Standing outside the library.
Eleanor smiled.
“Where was it?”
“In Dad's desk.”
Richard sat beside her.
“I used to think he loved you more than Mom.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because love isn't a scoreboard.”
Richard looked toward the lake.
“He made a lot of mistakes.”
“So did I.”
“So did Mom.”
Eleanor smiled.
“That sounds like a family.”
Richard laughed.
Then he asked something Eleanor never expected.
“Can I come back next Sunday?”
“For what?”
“Dinner.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“Yes.”
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The lake house was slowly becoming something Thomas had never managed to build while alive.
A place where the family could meet without pretending.
