When I made that promise, I had every intention of keeping it.
What I failed to keep was that promise in my mind.
"Emma sat on the ground, exhausted from the emotional whirlwind, when a sudden memory hit her of her promise, this morning, to come directly back home from school, avoiding her, in their words, “usual lingering”. Sigh again. She never meant to linger; it has simply been very far, that promise, and she forgot all about it."