Let’s Keep It RealMason answered confidently, laying out what he had learned with surprising depth. Mr. Greene listened with clear interest. “You’ve got promise,” he said. “But your voice needs more confidence. When you speak, it should sound like you’ve thought things through and are prepared to stand by them.”
Mason nodded and sat back down beside Katie. Brittany’s raised hand went unnoticed. Mr. Greene then spoke at length—and very well—about his work, the setbacks, the successes, the mistakes, and the lessons that came with them.
When he finished, he invited questions. Katie hesitated, then raised her hand. “What do you think was the biggest mistake you ever made in your life?”
Mr. Greene looked at her with visible surprise, then answered after a pause. “I won’t get into private stories people trusted me with over the years. Some things stay with a reporter.”
“But I can tell you this: the biggest mistake I made was in how I handled things with my own children. I failed to teach them some basic truths about life, and because of that, they made choices that changed everything.”
Katie found the answer vague and didn’t dwell on it much. But that evening, while Frank was still at work and her mother stood at the stove making him a pan of stewed vegetables, Katie mentioned the visit.
“A journalist? Named Greene?” Her mother sat down abruptly on the edge of a chair, looking like the air had gone out of her.
“What exactly did he say?” Surprised by the reaction, Katie repeated the exchange in detail. “Well,” her mother said quietly, drying her hands and turning back to the stove, “that explains a lot.”
“Why?” Katie asked. “Because that man is my father.” Katie nearly jumped out of her chair.
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