Chương 8
She rejected the call.
Beth muttered, “Well, that’s encouraging.”
Under any other circumstances I might have laughed.
Graham pushed through the courtyard door.
I followed.
He turned.
“Rachel.”
“If you tell me to stay inside one more time, I’m going to make a scene so memorable people will discuss it at Christmas.”
My mother inhaled behind us.
“I’m coming too.”
“No, Mom.”
“I have no idea what this is, but I’m not letting you walk into a parking lot in a wedding dress with two people who look like someone just died.”
The word died seemed to travel through Graham.
He looked at Nora again.
Something in his face changed.
He started walking faster.
I lifted my skirt and followed.
The pavement was rough beneath my thin shoes.
Millie called after us.
I turned.
Beth was kneeling in front of her.
Whatever she said made Millie stay.
My mother remained three steps behind me anyway.
There was no stopping her once she had decided somebody required supervision.
Nora stood near the edge of the courtyard when we reached her.
Up close, she looked about my age, maybe a few years older.
Her dark hair was pulled into a careless knot, and strands had come loose around her face.
Her eyes were red.
She looked at Graham first.
“You didn’t answer.”
“I was getting married.”
The bitterness in his voice made her flinch.
“I know.”
“Then why are you here?”
Her gaze moved to me.
She seemed to recognize me immediately.
“I’m sorry.”
I folded my arms.
“For which part?”
Her face tightened.
“More than one, apparently.”
Graham stepped between us slightly.
“What happened?”
Nora looked at him.
“Lillian called me.”
Beth reached us then.
My mother stayed close enough to hear but far enough to pretend she was respecting boundaries.
Graham’s expression hardened.
“What did she want?”
“She found out.”
“Found out what?”
Nora looked toward the building.
Millie was visible through the glass, standing beside Beth’s abandoned chair.
“I filed.”
The word sat there.
Graham stared at her.
“You what?”
“I filed the petition.”
His face went blank.
“You told me you were considering it.”
“I was.”
“And then?”
“And then I filed.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
He laughed once.
Not with humor.
“Yesterday.”
“Yes.”
“You filed for visitation the day before my wedding.”
“I didn’t choose the date because of your wedding.”
“You knew what today was.”
“Yes.”
“Then why yesterday?”
“Because the attorney said if I was going to do it, waiting longer could make everything worse.”
Graham stepped closer.
“For whom?”
“For me.”
At least she did not pretend otherwise.
His jaw tightened.
“You had access to Millie because I allowed it.”
“I know.”
“I trusted you.”
“I know.”
“You said you wanted a relationship, not a court order.”
“I changed my mind.”
“You changed your mind after eight months?”
Nora looked at him with something close to exhaustion.
“I changed my mind after you told me you might stop bringing her once you got married.”
I looked at Graham.
He froze.
There it was again.
Another room behind another door.
“You said that?”
He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“I said things would probably change.”
“Did you say you might stop taking Millie to see her?”
“I said I didn’t know what our schedule would look like.”
Nora shook her head.
“That is not what you said.”
Graham snapped, “Don’t.”
“What did he say?”
I asked.
Nora looked at me.
“He said after the wedding, you would be Millie’s mother in every practical sense and he didn’t know if keeping me around would be fair to you.”
A strange laugh escaped me.
The sound frightened even me.
Graham turned.
“Rachel.”
“No.”
I held up one hand.
“I just need to appreciate the craftsmanship.”
“What?”
“You hid Nora from me because you were afraid I’d make you choose, while apparently telling Nora you might choose me once the wedding made it convenient.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“It sounds exactly like what happened.”
Nora looked away.
I could see shame on her face, which somehow made me trust her more than Graham in that moment.
Not fully.
Not even close.
But more.
Graham pointed toward her.
“She filed something involving my daughter without telling me.”
“And you introduced your daughter to her without telling me.”
“These are not the same thing.”
“No.”
I nodded.
“They’re different betrayals.”
My mother made a small sound behind me.
I had forgotten she was there.
Nora pressed her lips together.
“I didn’t come here to fight.”
Graham laughed.
“You filed against me and came to my wedding.”
“I came because Lillian said she was going to tell Millie.”
That stopped all of us.
“What?”
Beth’s voice came out sharp.
Nora looked at her.
“She called me about twenty minutes ago.”
“What exactly did she say?”
“She said she was done letting everybody lie to that child.”
My stomach tightened.
“Lie about what?”
Nora looked at Graham.
He went pale again.
“No.”
Beth whispered, “Oh, God.”
I stared at both of them.
“What now?”
Nora’s face changed as she looked at me.
“You don’t know.”
It was not a question.
I felt suddenly very tired.
“Tonight has established that pretty thoroughly.”
Graham stepped toward Nora.
“Do not say anything.”
She looked at him.
“You don’t get to order me around.”
“This is my family.”
Nora’s expression hardened.
“She was my family before you ever knew her.”
“My wife.”
“Yes.”
“Not yours.”
Nora flinched.
For one moment, all the anger left her face.
“That was the problem, wasn’t it?”
Graham looked like he wanted to answer and hated himself for having one.
I stepped between them.
“What was Lillian going to tell Millie?”
Neither spoke.
My mother said quietly, “Someone better answer my daughter.”
Nora glanced at her, then back at me.
“Claire didn’t just write that she wanted me in Millie’s life.”
I waited.
“She left a recording.”
Graham said, “It was private.”
Nora’s eyes flashed.
May you like
“It was addressed to me.”
“It was on Claire’s phone.”
