Jan

She answered by telling me 'I already called Daddy, and he said it was okay for me to eat here, if it was okay with you.'

That settled, we spent a few minutes discussing what we wanted for supper; Kelly was turning into a surprisingly good cook, even though we shared cooking and cleaning duties. Finally, we settled on chilidogs and chips – none of us was particularly enthusiastic about cooking, but didn't want to send out for anything, either.

So when Mabel announced that there was someone at the door a bit later, we'd eaten and were ready when a check of the video camera at the door showed that it was Robyn.

Kelly went to let her in, and when the two of them made their way into the den, I was sitting at one end of the couch, with Jan at the other.

After showing Robyn a chair across from me, Kelly sat down next to me, and pulled my arm around her.

Robyn looked nervous, but didn't even blink at Kelly's actions; instead, she was focused almost entirely on me.

My face calm, I looked at her, and said, 'I understand you have something you want to say to me?'

She took a deep breath, and started.

'Yes, sir, I do. First, though, I want to thank you for letting me into your home, and giving me the chance to talk to you.'

She continued, 'What I did, to you and Jan and Kelly, was wrong. I know that, now. I owe them, and you, an apology for my actions. I involved myself in something that, as you said, was none of my business. Jan and Kelly were my friends for a long time, and I abused that friendship by prying into something that did not involve me. I behaved badly, I am deeply, and profoundly, sorry for the pain and hurt and inconvenience that all of you have experienced because of me.'

She turned to Jan, and said 'Jan, we've known each other since 6th grade. We've been told each other secrets, and shared dreams. What I did to you was to break the trust and friendship we had. I'm sorry. If I could go back and undo it, I would, in a second, even if it meant that*I* was the one to get hurt. If you give me the chance, I will show you how sorry I am; and if you can ever learn to trust me again, even a little bit, I will respect that trust by never, ever betraying it again.'

Next was Kelly.

'Kelly, I'm sorry I hurt you. You were happy, and my prying into your life with my questions and demands made you unhappy. I can't undo that.

But I can promise you that it will never happen again, under*any* circumstances. I can look at you, and see how much you like Dan, and how happy he makes you; and I know that because of me, you almost lost him, and that happiness. What you do in your life is your business, and no one else's. I've learned that, the hard way.'

By now, she had tears in her eyes, but Robyn didn't hesitate to face me.

'Dan, as much as Jan and Kelly, I owe you an apology. You're a kind, generous, honest, caring person. When you were there for our 'fashion show', you were a perfect gentleman; I know that all of us were teasing you a lot, but you never, ever did or say anything to make us think you were going to try anything with us. Even afterwards, you were nice enough to talk to us like we were grown up – more grown up than some of us actually were, or are. All of us knew that you cared a lot about Jan, and then Kelly; but for whatever reason, we just couldn't mind our own damn business, and we badly hurt you, and them. I'm sorry for that, and for the part that I had in it. I hope that you'll give me a second chance to show you that I have learned something, and grown up, since then. If you don't, then I understand, and won't feel sorry for myself -

I know that what I did was wrong, and that the way you choose to treat me is what I deserve for what I've done. Kelly is – was – my friend, and you've made her happier than I've ever seen her. For that, I should have respected you, and honored the relationship you have with her. Instead, I abused her, and through her, you. You deserve better, by a long shot.

Whether you forgive me or not, whether you give me another chance, or not, I want you to know that I want to do anything I can to make it right.'

At that, she sat back a bit, and simply looked at me, her face wet from her tears – ready to accept whatever judgment I chose to impose.

I thought about what she'd said, and asked her 'When you were talking to Kelly, you said that you had learned that what people do in their lives is their business, and no one else's; and that you'd learned it the hard way. What did you mean?'

She didn't hesitate to answer 'Because after Jan and Kelly had their talk with me and the other girls, Kathy and Mary Alice started trying to pump me and Kim for information about what we'd talked about. Kim was willing to talk about it, a little, but I wasn't, and they just kept*after* me about it – until I finally told them – 'scuse me – to just fuck off and leave me alone. It was like I was the only one that actually felt bad about what had happened. Since then, Kim is staying away from them more, too; I think she's sorry about what she did, but doesn't want to push about trying to make up. I mean, we kinda heard, a little, about what happened with Kathy and Mary Alice – you scared the hell out of them, and none of us wants to do anything to actually make you mad, you know?'

'So if you didn't want to make me mad, what made you think you could talk to me?' I asked.

'I didn't know if you would actually get mad, or not – I just knew that I felt bad about what happened, and that I really needed to apologize to all of you. I don't mean that I needed to apologize for me, but I needed to because it was the right thing to do.' she answered, with a sniffle.

I sat there for a couple of minutes, thinking about what she'd told me, while I watched her. She glanced at Jan and Kelly a few times, but I was the focus of her attention.

Finally, I spoke to her again.

'Robyn, you're right. What you did was wrong, and it hurt all of us -you included. That you had the courage to make the apologies you did counts for something. That you were willing to come here to do it counts for even more.'

She nodded as I went on 'I think that you have learned something, and yes, learned it the hard way. When you said that you needed to apologize because it was the right thing to do, you showed me that you learned something, and grew up a little in the process.'

She sniffled a little, and I continued, 'Everyone makes mistakes.

Sometimes, we don't appreciate something until it's gone – like I didn't appreciate how much I cared for, and even loved, Kelly, until she was afraid to come over here after what you and the others had done. The thing about these kinds of mistakes is to learn not to repeat them, or anything like them. It sounds to me like you have.'

I could see her visibly relax slightly, and said 'I can't speak for Jan or Kelly, obviously. But I think that I'm willing to forgive your foolishness, and even give you another chance – to make things right, as you put it.'

She all but collapsed in the chair in her relief.

I had to caution her 'Just because I've accepted your apology, don't think you're off the hook. I'm not the one you hurt the most. The ones you need to worry about are Kelly and Jan – IF you can get past them, only then do you start with a clean slate with me. If they don't accept your apologies, then what*I* have to say isn't going to matter much.'

With that, she turned to look first at Jan, then Kelly.

They, in turn, were looking at each other – communicating silently their faces impassive. Then both looked at me for a bit before turning to Robyn.

Jan spoke first, saying 'I accept your apology. You're right, we have known each other for a long time, and I don't think that you really meant to hurt us. And if you can convince Uncle Dan to give you a second chance, then I think I can give you one, too – we've been friends too long for me not to.'

After than, Robyn turned to Kelly, who just looked at her for a few moments before saying 'Yes, you did hurt me – a lot. You knew what my life was like, and how happy I was to have met Dan. And you pissed on it anyway.'

Robyn blinked at that, and started to look nervous before Kelly went on, telling her 'But I agree with Dan – I think you have learned a hard lesson. I accept your apology, because I really do think you're sorry for what you did. But it's going to be a long time before I trust you again the way I used to – you're going to have to earn my trust. But I'm willing to give you the chance.'

At the end of that, Robyn was crying again, and it was through her tears – and occasional sniffle – that she was able to say 'Thank you, both of you – and you, too, Dan. I'm not going to try to bullshit you with a lot of words; I'm just going to let you decide by what I do.'