“Mom, I know this is going to be a shock…”
I picked up Dori’s drawing and held it up. “Actually, I had a little warning.”
Laura let out a breath that was almost a laugh. Vanessa gave a nervous smile.
Thirteen years, and she still had Frank’s eyes.
God, that hurt.
I picked up Dori’s drawing
I didn’t throw her out. That seemed to surprise both of them.
“Dori,” I said, “go wash up, please, and put your pencils in their case. Grown-up talk.”
She went, glancing back twice. I waited until the bathroom tap squeaked on.
“Laura. Explain.”
Laura sat across from me with her hands knotted. “She contacted me a few months ago. She wanted to apologize.”
God, that hurt.
“To you?”
“To me first. She said she didn’t think you’d open the door.”
“She wasn’t wrong.” I turned to Vanessa. “Let’s not call it an argument, either. Nobody here said something cruel at Thanksgiving. You took money from the emergency account your father’s care depended on.”
