Chapter 66
“What’s wrong, Chris?”
“Dad is no longer here.”
As she held her cookie, her hand trembled.
“Are you feeling all right?” I asked her.
“Fine. I’m fine.” She bit into the chewy homemade cookie. “What are you going on about?”
I leaned forward. “I wanted to be here for Dad.”
“You were getting married. That was important.”
“Dad was important, too.”
Silence.
I heard my bedroom door creak open, the floorboards moaning beneath the movement of Philip’s weight down the hall.
Minutes later, I heard the bedroom door close.
My mother exhaled, setting her mug down hard on the coffee table. She looked towards the hall. “You have a generous husband who loves you. You had a lot to think about these last few months.”
“I love Philip.”
“Philip loves you, too.”
“I’ve been driving him crazy.”
“Go to him,” my mother urged. “He’ll understand.”
“I want him to get some sleep. It’s been a tough time for him, too.”
“Chris, dear.” She sighed, leaned back. “Your father loved you.”