Page 117 of How to Walk Away

My mom agreed. “He’s adored you from day one.”

“Mom is a little trickier.”

My mom let out a nervous laugh.

“Well, he’s not going to find out,” Kit said then, looking at me.

Was it morally wrong to collude against him? I didn’t really care right then. “I’ll never tell.”

“Neither will I.”

My mom looked physically deflated now, as if releasing all those secrets had emptied her out. She kept her eyes on Kit.

“You’re kind of his favorite, you know,” I said.

“I know,” Kit said. “Just barely.”

“He always took your side over Mom’s.”

“I know.”

“I’m glad for that,” our mom said. “I’m glad you had each other.”

Then, in the little pause that followed, we heard a voice out in the hallway, just outside the room.

“Can I help you with something, sir?” a voice asked.

At first, there was no reply, but then a man cleared his throat. “No,” he said. “No. I just… forgot my keys.”

My mom’s eyes went wide. Because it was Dad.

The nurse bustled on past him into the room, leaving the door open behind her, and all three of us turned to see my dad, frozen still at the threshold of the door, eyes not quite focused, gazing uncomprehendingly in our direction.

“I’m so sorry,” he said after a minute, a little breathless, his face blank with shock. “I came back to get the car keys. But I found myself eavesdropping instead.”

Twenty-four

MY MOTHER RANto him, a sob like I’d never heard escaping her throat, but he blocked her and stepped back.

He didn’t meet her eyes.

“Come on, Kitty,” he said, not meeting hers, either. “You’ve got a flight to catch.”

“Cliff—” my mom started.

“No!” my dad barked, and she caught her breath.

Then, in slow motion, he reached down for Kitty’s suitcase, walked over to slide the car keys out of my mom’s purse, and left the room without a word.

My mother’s legs collapsed from under her, but Kitty caught her and steered her over to the bedside chair.

“I’m sorry—I’m so sorry,” Kit said. “I’ll talk to him.”

My mom lifted a trembling hand to her mouth.

“It’s going to be okay,” I said. “We’re going to fix this. He loves you.”

Kit had a flight to catch. She met my eyes. “You’ve got this, right?”

---