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“She was my best friend for a while.” My voice blurred like an old photograph.
“What changed that?” Kyle asked. It wasn’t only his uncle who blurted out whatever thought was in his head.
“Your dad changed it.” I glanced away, not wanting the son to see the hurt his father had caused. A child—whether it was Barry, or me, or Kyle—should never be made to feel responsible for their parent’s sins. “Collin made his choice. Then I made mine.”
I twisted my hands together, knowing that both Collin and I shared blame.
I cleared my throat. “Like I said, that was a lifetime ago.” I returned my attention to Kyle, emotion from that time brimming in my eyes. “You’re here today looking for a job.”
“Bob is,” he said, gesturing to his uncle.
I waved a hand in front of myself. “Yes, right.” Past and present merging unexpectedly, I was having difficulty focusing. “Your contact information on the application has Bob, and I’m guessing you as well, residing in subsidized housing.”
“That’s correct.”
I gave him an assessing look. “Collin used to take care of Bob. After your grandparents died.” I knew that because people talked, and for some reason, they dropped a lot of information about Miranda and Collin’s life in front of me.
Kyle dropped his gaze. “I never knew my grandparents.”
“Right, they died before you were born.” Carol to cancer. Tom suffered a fatal heart attack. I’d been in the shelter at the time.
Kyle nodded. “I take care of Bob now.”
“Do you?” I tilted my head. “I assumed there was another grownup involved. Aren’t you still in school?” Some parts of Kyle still seemed a boy, but his eyes held a depth of wisdom beyond his age.
“I’m a senior at Southside High. Bob is my guardian until I turn eighteen.” He squirmed in his chair, seeming uncomfortable with my scrutiny.
“That’s an unusual situation.” One I was familiar with, but I didn’t mention that. My gaze narrowed. “It doesn’t seem right. How did—”
“My parents are gone,” Kyle said, cutting me off. “There was no one else to take me in after the accident. So Bob and I worked it out.”
“I’m so sorry about your parents.” Tears pricked my eyes. “That was a tragedy. I wish—well, I wish I could’ve done something.”
It was all so tragic. So many people from the past were gone now, including Kyle’s parents. I remembered the car crash and wondered now, like then, why the reporter hadn’t mentioned the familial connection between Martin and Miranda. Did Winston’s refusal to acknowledge Miranda as his daughter have something to do with it? Did his power extend so far that he could manipulate the news coverage?
Suddenly, the emotion from that time rushed at me like a dam that had burst, and I began to sob.
The email from Barry was part of it. And I didn’t know what to say to Collin’s son.
What did he know about me? About the past, if anything? Like Rachel, did he think I was responsible for the downward spiral of his father’s life?
“That was a dark time,” I whispered.
“The worst,” Kyle said.
I could tell by the shadows in his eyes that the details from that time, and his father’s addiction, he probably remembered too well. I certainly had never forgotten how awful it had been living with my drug-addicted mother.
“We should probably get back to the interview,” I said.
“Yes, we probably should.” Kyle rubbed a thumb over his wrist as if he were missing some comforting keepsake that had once been there. “Bob doesn’t have specific busser experience.”
“But I like to work,” his uncle said. “I know how to clean up. I worked in sanitation for years. People like me. Sometimes not at first.” He looked at his nephew, and they exchanged a warm glance, revealing their closeness. “But they do after they get to know me.”
I set my iPad aside. Asking interview questions was mainly a formality. I wanted to hire Bob.
“The job is yours if you want it.” Reaching across the table, I took and squeezed Bob’s hand. “I missed you, Bob. It’ll be nice having you around again.”
He smiled. “I miss you too, Addy.”
