“Enough to know she cared deeply for both of you.”
“You knew she was my aunt?”
“Not at first.”
“When did you find out?”
“Last spring.”
Mason stepped away from the laptop.
“Last spring?”
“I wanted to tell you.”
“You always want to tell me later.”
His grandmother’s face tightened with regret.
“I was trying to choose the right time.”
“There is no right time. There’s only the time people actually have.”
Henry watched the words strike her.
Mason seemed to regret them immediately, but he did not take them back.
His grandmother lowered her eyes.
“You’re right.”
The simple admission changed the room.
She reached for a glass of water, and Henry noticed the slight tremor in her hand.
Mason noticed too.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m having a procedure next month.”
“What kind of procedure?”
“A heart valve replacement.”
Mason went completely still.
“You said your tests were normal.”
“I said the doctors knew what was wrong.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
