Public coffee shop.
Daytime.
No attorneys.
The former president arrived early.
She looked older.
Not dramatically.
Just human.
They sat.
For a moment neither spoke.
Then the former president said:
“I owe you an apology.”
The homeowner waited.
“I should not have redirected the project.”
“No.”
“I should not have altered the contractor map.”
“No.”
“I should not have treated the parking proposal as though my son’s company was unrelated to me.”
“No.”
The former president looked down.
“And I should not have hit the permit out of your hand.”
The homeowner had almost forgotten that part.
Interesting.
The former president continued:
“I spent a long time telling myself you were trying to embarrass me.”
The homeowner said:
“I wasn’t.”
“I know.”
“Now.”
The former president nodded.
“I interpreted questions as personal attacks.”
“Why?”
She thought.
“Because I had become used to being the person with answers.”
Honest.
She continued:
“When you questioned the guest-parking plan, I thought you were trying to undermine me.”
“I thought if I let one resident stop the project, nobody would respect the board.”
The homeowner looked at her.
“So you decided to stop my driveway.”
The former president almost smiled sadly.
“When you say it like that…”
“How should I say it?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“That’s exactly how it was.”
Silence.
The former president continued:
“I convinced myself the easement gave us more authority than it did.”
“Counsel told you otherwise.”
“Yes.”
“Management told you otherwise.”
“Yes.”
“The permit told you otherwise.”
“Yes.”
The homeowner studied her.
“Then you didn’t convince yourself.”
The former president looked up.
“You ignored it.”
Long silence.
Then:
“Yes.”
Better.
The homeowner leaned back.
“Why meet me?”
The former president hesitated.
“I’m moving.”
“I heard.”
“I don’t want the last thing between us to be the hearing.”
The homeowner considered.
“You want forgiveness?”
“No.”
The answer surprised her.
The former president continued:
“I wanted to say it without a lawyer.”
Fair.
The homeowner nodded.
“Okay.”
The former president looked toward her coffee.
“You were right about something at the recall meeting.”
“What?”
“I had too much authority because people trusted me personally.”
The homeowner said nothing.