AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I Skype them,” I offered.
“Well,” my mother said. “There’s nothing like a face to face, is there?”
I was pretty sure she wasn’t talking about face to face over Skype.
“How long have you lived here?” my father asked Michael.
“I’ve owned it for just over a year,” he said.
“It’s nice,” my Dad offered.
“Thank you,” Michael said.
I sighed. Michael looked at me and then lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my fingers softly. His eyes sparkled.
“Have you been in touch with any of your ambulance friends?” Mum asked loudly.
I held Michael’s gaze a second longer than necessary and then turned to my mother.
“No.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “Been busy.”
“You’re never too busy for old friends, Kylee,” she told me. “You shouldn’t lose touch. What about Neal and Jody? You used to spend so much time with them. Always eating dinner at their place or having them over. You can’t just let that kind of friendship die.”
“They picked a side,” I said.
My mother blinked at me.
“Don’t be so silly,” she admonished. “There were no sides. It’s all in your head.”
“Did you pick a side?” Michael asked.
I stopped breathing.
“Excuse me?” Mum said.
“When Kylee needed you,” he said. “Did you pick your daughter’s side?”
I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath.
“Well, as I said, there were no sides,” she murmured.
“So,” Michael started. I squeezed his hand. He squeezed mine back. “Your daughter went through a painful divorce, and you weren’t really there for her. You were too busy making sure her ex knew there weren’t any sides.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” my mother said stiffly.
“I know Kylee was hurting,” Michael said, barely containing the fury in his voice. “I know she needed someone to tell her she’d be all right.”
“We were there for her,” my mother whispered.
“No,” Michael said. “I was.”
They left ten minutes later. It would have been five, but my father lingered at the door hugging me, tears in his eyes.
