Chương 6
She put a hand against her chest.
“I remember that.”
My mother looked at her.
“You do?”
“She was making those sweet potatoes with the marshmallows.”
“I hate marshmallows,” I said.
Linda snapped her fingers.
“That’s why you were complaining.”
“I wasn’t complaining.”
“You said they were an insult to vegetables.”
“They are.”
Joel said, “Finally, a position I can support.”
Linda continued.
“You told us you were buying an inn.”
“A lodge.”
“Yes.”
Patricia frowned.
“That was years ago.”
“Eight.”
“And you said it was small.”
“It was.”
“How small?”
“Thirty-one rooms.”
Kevin let out a quiet whistle.
Patricia ignored him.
“You made it sound like some kind of side project.”
“I said I had investors and debt and no idea if I’d sleep for the next year.”
“You laughed when you said it.”
“I was terrified.”
My mother looked genuinely confused by that.
The confusion hurt more than disbelief.
She had heard the sentence.
She had simply failed to imagine the fear beneath it.
Thomas took half a step backward.
It was subtle, but I appreciated it.
This had stopped being a hotel problem.
My mother touched the edge of her napkin.
“I thought you were exaggerating.”
“I know.”
The anger drained out of me so quickly that it left something colder behind.
Patricia looked down.
For a second, she seemed older.
Then the old defenses came back.
“Well, you could have been clearer.”
There it was.
Kevin closed his eyes.
Linda suddenly became interested in the bread basket.
I said, “I could have.”
Patricia looked up, surprised by the agreement.
“I could have called you after the first property made money.”
I picked up my water glass, then set it down without drinking.
“I could have called when we bought the second.”
Nobody moved.
“I could have sent you the magazine profiles.”
My mother’s mouth tightened.
“I could have invited you to the reopening here.”
Thomas looked at me.
He knew that story.
I had kept a table unassigned during Crestwater’s reopening dinner for nearly three hours because I had almost called Patricia that morning.
I never did.
The empty table had bothered Thomas enough that he finally asked whether he should release it.
I had said yes while pretending to study the dessert menu.
“So why didn’t you?” Kevin asked.
His voice was quiet.
I looked at him.
“Because I wanted to know whether anybody would ask.”
The silence after that was different.
Less hostile.
More uncomfortable.
Davina put her phone down.
Linda pressed her lips together.
My mother’s face became unreadable.
Kevin scratched the side of his jaw.
“Ask what?”
“How work was going.”
He winced.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
I continued because stopping would have made the moment easier for everyone else.
“Ask what Meridian Crest actually did.”
My gaze moved around the table.
“Ask why I was traveling so much.”
Joel looked down.
“Ask what I was proud of.”
Lily came running toward us.
“Mom.”
I turned immediately.
She held something cupped between both hands.
“What?”
“I found a tiny frog.”
The entire family seemed to breathe again.
She opened her palms just enough for me to see a green frog no larger than a quarter.
“Don’t squeeze him.”
“I’m not.”
“He probably wants to go back near the water.”
“He likes me.”
“I’m sure he does.”
“Can he sleep in our suite?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because frogs have different standards.”
Thomas cleared his throat.
“A strict amphibian policy.”
Lily looked at him solemnly.
“Is that real?”
“No.”
She smiled.
I walked with her to the edge of the garden and waited while she released the frog beside a patch of wet stones.
When I returned, my mother was standing.
Her wine remained untouched.
“I need to make a phone call,” she said.
No one asked to whom.
She picked up her handbag and walked toward the lodge.
Linda watched her go.
Then she looked at me.
“You know she’s going to call the credit card company and yell at some poor person.”
“I know.”
“I should probably stop her.”
“You won’t.”
“No.”
Linda buttered a piece of bread.
“I’m hungry.”
Kevin gave a tired laugh.
Davina looked toward her children.
“Can I ask you something?”
I waited.
She rubbed one thumb across the edge of her phone case.
“Were you ever going to tell us?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not really an answer.”
“It’s the only one I have.”
She nodded, but her expression remained uneasy.
“I feel stupid.”
Joel said, “You did tell her she didn’t understand luxury travel.”
Davina glared at him.
“I’m aware.”
“I’m just making sure the historical record survives.”
“Joel.”
“What?”
She turned back to me.
“I was awful.”
“Yes.”
Her eyebrows lifted.
I almost apologized for agreeing.
Almost.
Instead I sat down.
“You were.”
She looked at the tablecloth.
“I thought you were judging me.”
That surprised me.
“For what?”
“For trying too hard.”
I said nothing.
She gave a humorless little smile.
“You were, weren’t you?”
“Sometimes.”
“Great.”
“You asked.”
“Yeah.”
She picked at a loose thread on her napkin.
“I post all those trips because people from work follow me.”
I waited.
“And because my ex does.”
That explained more than I expected.
“He got remarried in February,” she said.
“I heard.”
“To a woman who runs marathons.”
Joel looked offended.
“What’s wrong with marathons?”
“Nothing.”
Davina rubbed her forehead.
“That’s the problem.”
I laughed before I could stop myself.
She did too.
It lasted maybe two seconds.
Then her eyes got shiny.
She looked away before anyone could acknowledge it.
“My kids think I’m ridiculous,” she said.
“Your kids think everyone over thirty is ridiculous.”
“That helps.”
“It should.”
She nodded.
Then she looked at me again.
“I’m sorry.”
This time I believed she meant it.
I did not say it was fine.
It wasn’t.
But I said, “Thank you.”
Thomas glanced toward the lodge doors.
My mother had disappeared inside.
He lowered his voice.
May you like
“There is one additional matter.”
Of course there was.
