Her letters were returned unopened. Belinda was in her 40s and living in a city far away when her sister called to report that her father had developed tongue cancer. She called her mother and offered to help. Much to her surprise, her mother broke into tears and accepted her offer. Over the years, and especially with her husband s illness, she and her husband had softened towards Belinda.
Impending death can have a way of putting things in perspective.
Partly too, her parents accepted her because all the other children were tied up with jobs and children. Belinda was a freelance writer who could work anywhere. Within weeks, Belinda had moved her office into her old bedroom on the farm. Her brothers came by to see the folks, and while at first they were skeptical about her, when they saw how kind Belinda was to their father, they softened, too. They began joking and horsing around with Belinda the way they had done as kids.