I expected...

I'm not sure what I expected. Silence, mostly. Maybe a curt nod and then a return to silence. Silence has been our demilitarized zone, our no-fly area. Silence has been the gap that has allowed us both to lick our wounds and get on with our lives.

I wasn't doing it for me, there was nothing I could have gained from it. I was doing a favour, my part in something that was unfortunately made my business. It was the right thing to do. Doing the right thing is its own reward, don't they say?

An amusing fact of our language. We blame “them” for every wrong we encounter, but then we turn around and believe everything “they” say. I guess that's where it all falls down, huh.

I could have stuck with silence, left the gap there, but under the circumstances the adult thing to do, the responsible thing to do was to break through that gap, state the facts as impersonally as I could, and then retreat.

I expected silence, mostly. Silence or maybe a nod, then a return to silence.

I think what I expected was some sign of maturity.

I should have known better. I should have expected the schoolgirl viciousness. You learn something every day.