Honest Truth

Glenda sat down with her parents and said, "This will be a long discussion, and I need your full attention to hear everything I have to say. I will be grateful if you find it in your heart to forgive me in the end. If not, I will accept that.

Regardless of how you perceive what I'm about to share, I know you have your ways of thinking. I am twenty-three years old, and you raised me to be an honest adult. What I'm about to tell you may be hard to believe, but I assure you, it is the God's Honest Truth.”

Glenda's mother, Bonnie, asked, "Since this is taking up some of our time, would you like some cheese and crackers? I can also get glasses of water, juice, soda, or I can make a pot of coffee."

Glenda smiled and replied, “Coffee sounds great. While you do that, I can print out the letter I shared with Father Michael. You can read it before I explain what happened during this meeting."

Glenda's father, Tim, stood up and said, "I'll open a new pack of printer paper just for this. I don't want you using my letterhead."

As he left the family room, Bonnie headed to the kitchen.

Glenda worked on her laptop and found the letter. She sent it to the printer and waited.

~

It wasn’t long before Tim shouted, “Bonnie!”

The sound of his voice alarmed Bonnie and Glenda. Glenda rushed out of the family room while Bonnie came from the kitchen. They both hurried to the back office, where they found Tim on the floor with a printout beside him.

Glenda checked his pulse while Bonnie called 911. As she began performing CPR, Glenda repeatedly said, “Dad, please don’t die.” She prayed he would respond.

After hanging up the phone, Bonnie picked up the printout and started reading. Just then, the doorbell rang. She quickly ran and returned with the EMTs.

Tim was on the stretcher and said, “God, help my daughter and forgive her for what she did. I can’t.”

The EMTs exchanged glances, which made Glenda smirk. “He read something I asked forgiveness for. I guess my father doesn’t believe we all have a reason to move forward and do the right thing.”

Bonnie said, “I'm going with your father. If you want to discuss what happened I will return when the hospital tells me I must leave.”

Glenda replied, “I want you and Dad here when I explain what happened and why I did what I did.”

Her mother looked at her and began to exit. Glenda called after her, "Please call me when Dad can have visitors.” Glenda added, “I will shut everything off and head home. Please call me.”

~

When Glenda left her parents' house, she ensured everything was in order. Instead of heading home, she stopped by the church to speak with Father Michael.

Father Michael met Glenda in his back office and listened as she explained that Tim had suffered an angina attack due to the stress of her asking him to print out her letter.

"Why did you have your father read the letter before explaining your situation?" Father Michael asked.

"Father, I sent the letter to the printer, and my Dad said he would put fresh paper in without his letterhead. I never expected him to read the letter. I thought I would get it when he returned to the family room. Maybe it was my fault for sending the letter before he returned, but I didn't expect him to read it."

Glenda was wringing her hands anxiously as she spoke.

She looked directly at Father Michael, tears streaming down her face. "Father Michael, I never wanted this to happen. I only went to my parents with this because you told me they needed to know what happened and whether they would believe it. I never thought it would cause my Dad to have a heart attack.”

Glenda, you must be kidding. How did you expect your parents to react? That letter you wrote didn't explain the entire story; it was very straightforward. I can't believe you didn't follow your father into the room where he keeps his printer. You're telling me you never expected him to grab the printout. You sent it while he was changing the paper! Tell me, Glenda, didn't it at least cross your mind that he would read what was printed?"

Glenda lowered her head and stared at the corner of Father Michael's desk. Looking at the spider's cobweb, she thought about the phrase “caught in the spider’s web of lies and deceit.”

Father Michael asked, "Are you okay?"

Glenda looked up and replied, “I was nervous about telling my parents. Maybe, subconsciously, I wanted my father to read the letter; I don’t know.”

As he stood up, Father Michael said, "I think you should go and visit your father to find out how your mother is coping with all of this."

Glenda shook Father Michael's hand and said, "I wish I had just let it go. This was a big shock for my parents. What bothers me the most is the fear that they might not believe me. You forgave me for not coming forward with this information when it happened, but I was young, impressionable, and scared. My father would never have believed me, and now that I am about to explain the details of that day, I have a feeling they might not forgive me. Yes, the man is behind bars now, but that doesn’t explain to them what happened before his conviction.”

~

Glenda entered her father’s hospital room and found him and her mother discussing the letter.

When she said, "Hi, Dad," he looked at her and replied, "I don't want you here. You need to leave before I call the nurse to escort you out."

Glenda pulled up a chair and sat down. "Dad, I wanted to talk to you about what was in that letter before you read it."

"That doesn't excuse you for not telling us earlier. It upset me to learn that my best friend of forty years would do something like that. And now, hearing it from you—my daughter—is hard for me to believe. You never even warned us that you would sit in a courtroom, talking to strangers about what happened."

“Dad, that's the reason for the letter. Mr. Robinson was convicted after my testimony. I am the one who essentially put the last nail in his coffin. I want... I need your forgiveness. I wasn't allowed to tell you anything about what was going on. My lawyer insisted that I not discuss it with anyone.”

“Glenda, I know how the judicial system works. Why… didn’t you tell your mother and me that this happened to you? Why did you wait until it was past the point, and you became a victim of the prosecution? Why, Glenda? We have had Steve and his wife over many times since then. We played card games, had dinner, went to the theatre, and attended many other events with them. Then to find out he is a pedophile and you were one of the children he had done things to…”

Glenda started crying and went to her Dad’s side. She grabbed his hand and sniffled. “Dad, I couldn’t tell you that Mr. Robinson was doing things to me. He threatened me and said he would make sure you and Mom would pay for anything I told you.”

Glenda’s mother, Bonnie, asked, “Why didn’t you come to us when Mr. Robinson was arrested?”

“Mom, I didn’t know I would go to the prosecutor’s office until I heard he would be acquitted due to insufficient evidence. I found out that other children weren't going to testify. I felt like I had to do something—at the very least, to get Mr. Robinson off the streets so he wouldn't be able to harm any more kids."

Glenda sat down and asked, “Why didn't either of you know that Mr. Robinson had been arrested? And why didn't the attorneys ever talk to you?"

Tim replied, "We've been estranged since you graduated from high school and moved across the country. You came back only to handle the court case. Your mother and I just returned home two weeks ago. We had no idea about this. We haven't even heard from Angela since we got back."

"Dad, we are estranged because no matter what I did in my life, you always accused me of lying and doing things I was never guilty of. I was a good kid and a responsible teenager. I worked hard to achieve the grades I was capable of. It may not have made you happy, but I did my best. Because of how you treated me, I never felt the need to defend myself. It wasn't guilt; the absence of love from either of you held me back."

Bonnie stood up and said, "I want you to leave now. I will not sit here and listen to you disrespect your father or me."

“Fine, Mom. I'll leave and let you continue without a daughter."

Just as she was leaving, her father said, "Wait. I have something to say."

"Dad, Mom just asked me to leave."

“And I asked you to wait. I've missed having you around for the last five years. Maybe I was a bad father for not standing by you when people made accusations. I never claimed to know how to parent a teenager. When neighbors come and complain, I have to take their word for it."

“Dad, you never once asked me if I was innocent. You took their word and automatically punished me. And you wonder why I shut myself off and didn't make new friends or get involved in extracurricular activities.”

"Since moving across the country, I assume you did that to escape from all of our friends and neighbors.”

“Dad, I moved far away to escape many things. Your friends and the neighbors you are close to don't care about me, and my classmates made my life a living hell for four years. I live a great life and am truly happy, which matters to me. I'm asking for your forgiveness for having helped the prosecutor convict your best friend. Mr. Robinson is a terrible man who should not have been free to do what he has done for over twenty years."

“I agree with you, Glenda. I apologize for my poor reaction to the letter. I should have thought it through and allowed you to share your side before I read it. If you accept this, I forgive you."

Glenda opened her eyes in surprise and asked, "Are you serious right now?"

She turned to her mother and asked, "What about you, Mom?"

Bonnie looked at Tim and then back at Glenda. “I forgive you too, and I want you to know that after today, we will be proud parents for everything you have accomplished despite all you've been through."

With tears in her eyes, Glenda said, "Thank you. I'm not sure what else to say. I have a flight tomorrow to return home, but I will keep in touch to check your health. If you decide to come to my place for Christmas this year, I would love to celebrate with you. Please understand that I cannot, nor will I, come to your house for any length of time. I honestly couldn't handle the negative attention that I would face."

“Okay. We will arrange to be at your house for Christmas. During that time, we can discuss everything you've gone through. Many residents owe you an apology and should hear that you forgive them."

"Dad, that's the difference between you and me. I have already forgiven everyone who has wronged me. If I were to receive apologies, I would accept them, but I will never forget what happened or that so many believed the lies told about me."

Turning away, Glenda said, "I need to go now. I will call to let you know I got home safely."

Bonnie stood up and said, “Glenda, we may not have been the best parents, but you should know this: we forgive you for not telling us about Steven Robinson. We will feel guilty about it, but we do forgive you.”

Glenda hugged her mom and replied, "I forgive you and Dad, too.”

She looked at her Dad, ensuring he was paying attention, and added, "I love both of you. I have to go now."

~