Page 32 of The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland
“Explain.” Her father wouldn’t have just thrown away achild.
Astrid’s fingers fluttered on the stem of her wineglass. “There was an accident—I didn’t lie about that. He was driving. The car crashed.”
“More.” Beatrice pulled out her accountingI just caught you embezzling funds so don’t even tryvoice. “Right now.”
“Hoo boy.” Astrid’s gaze flicked upward. “Okay. It was dark and icy. He took a turn too fast, and we hit the guardrail of the bridge, but it didn’t hold. We went over.”
“Whoa.” Minna’s eyes were huge.
“The impact of hitting the water should have killed us all, but it didn’t. The car slid under, and I couldn’t get my seat belt off. Mitchell hit his head on the wheel, so there was blood everywhere.”
Her eyes focused on her knitting, Cordelia said evenly, “This is where you always said that he and Beatrice died. Can’t wait to hear this new version.”
“You weren’t ready to hear it.”
“You mean you weren’t ready to tell it.”
“Anyway, even with the blood, he managed to get into the back seat and pry both of you out of your car seats. Both of you were laughing.” Astrid’s face twisted into a smile. “Like it was the funniest thing that had ever happened to you. I still couldn’t get my seat belt off. He yelled at me to break a window, to let the water fill the car. Then the pressure of the water would let him open a door, and he’d swim you both up. Then he’d come back for me. I knew he wouldn’t, of course—I wouldn’t have, either. He’d have been too busy taking care of you both, making sure you were breathing. There wouldn’t have been enough time for him to come back for me.”
Beatrice wanted to protest, but there was no air in her lungs.
“So I reached for your hands, and I got them. In my right hand, I held one little Cordelia fist and one little Beatrice fist. With my left hand, I made a sign. I don’t know what happened next. I promise you that’s true. All I know is that one minute we were inside the car, and then next all four of us were on the shore, all of us dripping. You were both bawling by then, and I think Mitchell and I were, too.”
None of this made sense. “I don’t get it.”
Astrid shrugged. “I’d honestly never seen anything like it, and I’ve seen a lot. I just took it for what it was, but it scared the living shit out of your dad. He’d put up with how you blew feathers out of your pillows and into the air, and with what you did with the mobile above your bed—”
Minna leaned forward. “I don’t know that one. What did they do?”
Astrid beamed, as if she was reporting that they’d learned to read at two. “Oh, it was glorious. It was the moon and stars and sun, and they could make the whole room go into sunrise and then sunset, and once, I swear to god, there was a meteor shower under that thing. He hated it, threw it out. The two ofyou, together—you’ve always had it. But the way you got us all out of the car… he couldn’t handle it. He blamed me for it.”
But what the hell wasit? A thousand questions filled her mind, so Beatrice grabbed the most important one. “Fine, so no one knows how we got to shore. Why did you leave with Cordelia?”
Her gaze slid sideways. “Shortly after that, not even a day later, shetookthe Knock from me. Grabbed it, really. She literally activated herself. After that, I had to leave to protect her. Cordelia was the strongest.”
What did thatmean? Had her mother decided Beatrice was bad at magic, of all things, and snatched the better kid? Awesome. But she needed to understand something else first. “How could Dad allow you to take her, though?” Her father had always been so obvious with his love, so generous with it. Nothing could convince Beatrice that he wouldn’t have felt the same about her sister. Cordelia, she noticed, kept her eyes on her knitting, her mouth a thin line.
Astrid raised her shoulders and let them drop. “I’m not a monster. I didn’t want to take both his babies from him. I thought I was doing the right thing, and I think he was just grateful I didn’t take both of you. He knew I could have. I know you won’t believe this, but it broke my heart to lose you, Beatrix.”
Cry me a goddamn river.She was right—Beatrice didn’t believe it. “And you never looked for me.”
Astrid took a large bite of the pie. Around the mouthful, she said, “I didn’t have that right. I was the one who’d left you. I figured you’d find me if you wanted to know me.”
A mother who knew her own daughter was out there, motherless? Did that give her not only the right, but the responsibility, too? “But he didn’t tell me anything.”
“Seems to have worked out.” Astrid gave a too-sweet smile,revealing a piece of peel stuck in her teeth. “I knew it would. You found us.”
Minna said, “Ifound her, actually.”
That was true. That was important.
“You did, kiddo.” Cordelia reached over and squeezed Beatrice’s hand. “And then you brought her to me. Yesterday was one of the happiest days of my life.”
Minna said, “The numberonehappiest day of her life was the day I was born. Dad’s, too.” A shadow crossed her face. “Mom always says…”
Cordelia smiled. “I always say he wanted nothing but you.”
“But—”
