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“Thank you.”
“Was there another reason you didn’t want me to see Val?”
“There is. Do you have time to hear the gruesome story of my conception?”
“Ugh, Chris. That’s terrible. I do, if you’re up to sharing it.”
“I am.”
Chris told the entire story of the accusation of rape, and then the information Rose Angel had found in his mother, Emily Chastain’s closet when she was cleaning it out.
And then the final blow, Vic Chastain telling his boys that Emily had taken her own life. “The aftermath of rape and then forced by her parents to give me up had been too much.”
Sniffing, Cindy felt awful that Chris had to learn about his birth family in such a horrendous way.
“I guess the Harcourts were really angels sent from above,” she replied tearfully.
“I guess. What I gather from my brothers, their mother was wonderful, loving, and attentive. She was just mentally ill.”
“Who isn’t?” Cindy asked, anxious to say goodbye. The conversation was too depressing and she needed to conserve her well-being for her own precarious future. “I guess I’ll talk to you later. Sorry about contacting Val, too. That was a stupid move on my part.”
“It’s okay. At least you know what I’m dealing with.”
“Goodbye, Chris.”
She lay there for a while, and then she heard sounds coming from the kitchen that could only mean one thing—Kirk was there, making her breakfast.
***
The drapery had effectively blocked out the sun in Annie’s living room as she slept on the couch hours longer than she had in weeks. The sound of a male voice coming from the back of the house lingered on the periphery of her consciousness but not enough to wake her completely.
At ten, she felt the presence of another human in her midst, and she woke up with Chris’s knees at eye level. She slowly raised her eyes to thighs, and then—gulp—sparkling tighty-whities that left little to the imagination, and then up to Chris’s smiling, handsome face.
“I guess this means I drove you out last night. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. This couch is comfortable.” She struggled to sit up. “What time is it?”
“Ten, if you can believe it. I’ve already talked to my ex, my sons, and Justin, in that order.”
“I thought I heard a one-sided conversation.”
He helped her stand up and hugged her, a full-body hug. “How about breakfast out, and then we’ll head to my brother’s place. It sounds like he’s grilling a side of beef over there.”
“Aren’t they going to tear up Maggie’s kitchen soon? Maybe that’s why he’s grilling.”
“We can get something to contribute to his barbeque. Dave’s making potato salad so anything else.”
“I’m ready for a breakfast out. Are you going like that?”
“Nah. I had just gotten out of the shower and was getting dressed when Cindy called.”
“I don’t even want to ask what she said.”
“I told her about Val and Emily. She got upset, of course, and is sorry she ever got involved with Val or exposed the boys to him.”
“How was their dinner?”
“I guess not great,” he said, unsure about divulging what Cindy had said Elizabeth repeated.
