Chapter 43

“It didn’t until she told me they met on New Year’s Eve at that very store, the Monmouth Bottle Shop. It was a ritual that was special to them.”

“I understand now, but that doesn’t condone foolishness,” Greg observed Bobby with compassion.

“It was too icy. I begged them not to go. I said I would go instead. My father gain stayed me, so I insisted on coming with them to carry the cases. My father and mother had me later in life. Dad was seventy-five, and Mom was sixty-two. Dad was getting a bit frail although he’d never admit it.”

“Jason mentioned once that you went to Monmouth University so you could be close to them in case they needed you. Is that right?” Greg got up and offered Keith some of the good coffee.

Bobby shook his head. “Yes, them and Jason—I wanted to keep an eye on Jason, too. His parents were brutal and even though he was in New Mexico, I knew they’d find some way to suck him back in. The business with Ann being too sick to work was the first salvo in that war.”