The Secrets of Us

by Lucinda Berry

She’s always loved her students,

“How are her kids holding up?” I ask. She talks about them like they’re her own, and I grow attached to them over the years, too, because most of her stories revolve around what’s happening in their lives.

I’ve never understood people who aren’t friends with their siblings as adults. How do you survive childhood together and not grow an intimacy unlike any other?

“Sometimes it’s the people closest to us that have the hardest time accepting that someone we love could do something so terrible. I see it happen all the time, especially with parents, but those two things can coexist. We can still love someone even if they’ve been bad.”