At 76, I Was Too Ashamed to Take off My Bathrobe at the Community Pool After My DIL Laughed at My Body – Then My Granddaughter Asked Her One Question That Made Her Go Red
"Don't make her do it."
***
That evening, Amanda came to my door.
I opened it but stayed in the doorway.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I went too far."
"How far would've been fine?"
She blinked.
"Linda..."
"One picture? Two?"
I opened it but stayed in the doorway.
"That's not what I meant."
"Then tell me what you meant."
Amanda crossed her arms, then dropped them again.
"I was joking with my friends."
"About me."
"Yes."
"Why me?"
She looked away.
"I don't know."
"Then tell me what you meant."
"Try again."
Her eyes came back to mine.
"Because you usually let things go."
There it was.
"You thought I'd stay quiet."
Amanda swallowed.
"Yes."
"Because you usually let things go."
I nodded once.
"At least that's honest."
She pulled out her phone.
"I wrote something to the group."
"Read it."
Amanda hesitated.
"I'm sorry if anyone misunderstood..."
"At least that's honest."
"No."
Her face tightened. "What's wrong with that?"
"Nobody misunderstood what you did."
Silence stretched between us.
Finally, Amanda asked, "Then what do you want me to say?"
"The truth."
She looked down at the screen.48
"Then what do you want me to say?"
This time, when she started typing, I didn't help her.
"I took pictures of Linda without asking. She didn't know I shared them, and she wasn't part of the joke. I made it sound like she was. What I did was cruel."
She looked at me.
"Is that true enough, Linda?"
"It's the truth. Send it."
