He hadn't expected to be so affected by anything Kaatjie had to say, but the image she painted of Ana had him feeling suddenly sentimental. Adriana teaching Kaatjie poetry, taking her to look at art, quietly insisting that she be taught English — it seemed very much as though she were preparing her to be a Dempsey someday. Of course she never would have initiated a reconciliation; far too stubborn for that. But it seemed clear to him now that she had been ready for one. How long had she been holding out hope that he would return the same way he always had before, climbing in the window and shrugging sheepishly at her in lieu of an apology? But he had been busy ruining his life in a dozen other ways, and too much of a coward to every try to fix something he had broken. She deserved better than me, he thought, but of course he couldn't write something so incriminating.