AMENDS

"That's great! You're getting out of here!"

"Are you to remain?"

"No," she said with a sharp edge to her tone.

"Oh," I said. "So I was the one who held you back?

"I don't know what to do. 

"I'll have to spend a long time thinking

"About how to make it up to you."

"I'm sure you will."

"What?"

"Make it up."

[NOTE: I'll never forget my good friend Mary Dumont's sage tutelage on apologies: in so many cases it does not do merely to say, "Sorry." One must make a good faith effort and own, or take responsibility, for the incident necessitating an apology...]