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You have a way of doing that,I heard Harrison say.
“Thank you for calling,” I said instead.
Elyse ushered me inside the front hall. “I was hoping we could clear the air.”
“Sounds good.” I realized that, in spite of everything, I’d missed her. “I’ll just go upstairs and say hello to my mother.”
“She’s not here,” Elyse said as I started for the stairs.
“What?”
“Your father took her for a ride to see the changing of the leaves.”
What?“Oh. I just assumed…”
“Why don’t we go into the kitchen? I’ve made a fresh pot of coffee and there’s some leftover apple pie.”
I followed her into the kitchen and sat down at the table, trying to grasp what was happening. I’d assumed that she’d invited me over to see my mother, but clearly that assumption had been incorrect.
“I hate this estrangement between you and your father,” she began, “and I can’t help feeling at least partly responsible. It was never my intention to cause any problems, and I’m so, so sorry.”
I nodded, not sure how to respond. “I’m sorry, too,” I said finally, realizing this was true.
“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about,” she insisted. “It must have been such a shock when you realized that your father and I…well, you know. Please believe that it was never planned. It just kind of happened. Your father’s been so lonely, and to be frank, so have I—”
“Idounderstand,” I interrupted, not wanting to hear the details, and straining to be magnanimous. “It’s just that…”
“You don’t have to explain.” She poured me a cup of coffee, adding the correct amount of cream and sugar before sliding it across the table and lowering herself into the nearest chair. “And then finding her earrings…”
“I didn’t mean to snoop. Just that I saw my mother’s blouse hanging in your closet and I…”
“Oh, my goodness,” Elyse interjected. “Well, no wonder you assumed I was stealing. No, I saw that blouse lying crumpled on the floor of your mother’s closet and brought it downstairs to iron it. I just hadn’t had a chance to take it back upstairs yet. Oh, you poor thing. That explains everything.”
I sipped at my coffee, not sure where we went from here. Understanding why something happened was one thing. Allowing it to continue was another. And there was no way that Elyse could continue looking after my mother while sleeping with my father.
“I realize that I can’t keep working here,” she said, as if privy to my deepest thoughts. “I’ve already started packing up my things.”
I nodded. “Does my father know?”
“Not yet.”
“I don’t know what to say except that I’m sorry. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
“I know, and I understand. I really do.” Elyse pushed herself slowly to her feet. She walked to the sink and opened the cupboard directly below, reaching inside and retrieving a large see-through baggie, laying it on the table in front of me. It contained my mother’s jewelry. “You should have this,” she said. “For safekeeping. In case the next housekeeper isn’t quite so honest. Everything’s there, including the Cartier watch and the sapphire-and-diamond earrings. There’s no way I could keep them. They belong with you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, dropping the baggie into my purse and pushing myself to my feet. “You know that my father will be furious.”
“Initially. But he’ll get over it. He’s a tough man, your father.”
“Yes, he is.”
We stood there for a while in silence. I realized I was holding back tears. “What will you tell him?”
“Don’t you worry about that,” she said, enfolding me in her arms and giving me a final hug. “Just leave it to me. I’ll think of something.”
