The enclosed stories belong to your daughter if you want her to have them.
You owe me nothing.
I am sorry.
He signed the letter.
Then stared at it for a long time.
The words seemed inadequate.
They were inadequate.
But they were honest.
For once, he had written no explanation designed to protect his pride.
No excuse.
No claim that he had been too busy, too confused, or too grief-stricken to understand.
He had made a choice.
It was wrong.
And he was willing to say so.
He did not return to the house immediately.
Instead, he went to the clubhouse.
The same building where the final argument had taken place.
The same long wooden table.
The same silver eagle emblem hanging above the meeting area.
Several men sat around drinking coffee when he entered.
They looked toward him.
The older biker who accompanied him the previous evening stood.
"How are you doing?"
The old man shook his head.
"Not well."
The room grew quiet.
He placed the folder on the table.
Then looked toward the men.
"I need to tell you something."
Nobody interrupted.
He took a breath.
"Yesterday, we helped a little girl who was trying to sell her bicycle."
Several riders nodded.
One smiled sadly.
"Sweet kid."
The old biker swallowed.
"Her father was our brother."
Silence.
A younger rider frowned.
"Who?"
The old man described the late mechanic.
Several older members went still.
One lowered his cup.
Another stared toward the silver eagle emblem.
The red-bearded rider whispered, "You're kidding."
The old biker shook his head.
"No."
He explained what he had discovered.
The photograph.
The widow.
The little girl.
The letter he had received after the funeral.
And the fact that he never opened it.
By the time he finished, nobody was looking at him the way they had before.
One of the older men spoke.
"You knew she'd written?"
The president nodded.
"Yes."
"And you didn't tell us?"
"No."
The man leaned back.
For several moments, he stared at the table.
Then whispered, "Damn."
The old biker nodded.
"That's about right."
Another rider looked toward the wall.
"He was our brother."
"I know."
"We could've helped her."