Page 132 of A Forgotten Mistake

“Homicide,” I say, and I don’t miss the surprise that crosses her face.

“He’s a head detective,” Gabriel says. “Phenomenal detective.”

I look over at him, wondering if I’m like a prized bull he’s in the process of trying to show off.

“Smartest man I know. He’s closed more cases than anyone else in our department and saved countless lives,” Gabriel keeps going.

It’s starting to get embarrassing now.

“I pay him to say that,” I tell her. “Just everywhere we go, he’s required to start listing off my good points so he gets a better tip.”

Gabriel looks over at me and raises an eyebrow as I beam at him. “I’m just… saying.”

“I wasn’t a very good mom to you, was I?” Lisa asks me as she gestures for us to sit.

“What? No, you were fine, you had a lot to deal with.”

She shakes her head. “I was too hard on you. I feel like around that time I just lost my faith in everyone. Abby was just… so trying. And Dale was off… fucking around on me. And you…”

“You can shit talk me, I really don’t care,” I say.

“No, you weren’t a bad kid,” she protests. “I was a bad parent. I took on more than I could handle at that moment, and I was far too harsh on all of you.”

“It’s fine.”

“Did you end up with a permanent placement?” she asks.

“No, and I didn’t care to have one,” I respond. “I’m not here about myself.”

“We’re dating,” Gabriel says. “So he has me.”

Lisa looks over and smiles at Gabriel. “That makes me really happy to hear. I’m so glad he has someone. He always acted like he never needed anything or anyone, but I know he needed someone. With my life falling apart, I knew I couldn’t keepfostering. I stopped for years and picked it back up when Dalilah was practically shoved into my hands because of an emergency.”

The young woman in question is watching us from the doorway.

“That’s good you were in a better place then, it sounds like,” Gabriel says. I’m positive he’s just going to run this whole show, but he’s cute, so I’ll let him.

“So… about Abby,” I say.

Lisa watches me closely. “Yeah?”

“What was the final straw?” I ask. “She was convinced it was you finding her in my bed, but you knew I was gay. You never fully stated it, but you tried to show your support whenever something came up that made it pretty clear. You knew we didn’t do anything. So I fully believe there was something else there.”

Lisa’s quiet for a while. “She just… she did questionable things that I thought could put our family in danger.”

“Like?”

“I knew she was using drugs.”

“At that time, it was nothing more than weed. You can’t tell me you’d never had any other foster kids smoke weed. You’d had numerous teenage fosters before the two of us. You found something that you didn’t like.”

“She… made… questionable choices that made me feel like she’d be happier elsewhere. Is something going on with her now?” she asks. “I haven’t heard from her in a very long time.”

“Were there videotapes of me?” I ask. “Is that what you found?”

Lisa stills as her eyes catch mine. “Yes.”

“That’s what I thought. Fuck.”

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