“You know, sweetheart,” she said softly, “I regret a lot of things in my life but I think what I regret most was not passing the Faith down to you, like I learned it. But I was young and scared and after your father left the first thing I thought I needed was another man. I ran into the arms of men repeatedly, when I should have run into the arms of the Church.”
Again, I was too stunned to reply.
“And yes, I know that I have a lot to answer for,” she sighed, her voice filled with regret. “Instead of showing you the right way to live, I showed you the wrong way. It’s a miracle that you turned out as good as you have.”
With this, we both sat, in silence. I was struggling to keep my emotions under control.
“I am so, so sorry for what I put you through,” she said then, in a barely audible voice.