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“I heard some news about my dad, and I guess I don’t know what to do with it.”
Maggie nodded, but didn’t pry. “That’s always a hard position to be in.”
Hannah nodded, then let out a long breath. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure thing.” Maggie folded her hands together, waiting for Hannah to speak.
“I found out he has cancer.”
“Oh, dear,” Maggie said, reaching her hand across the table to Hannah. “I’m so sorry.”
“Is it wrong that I don’t feel sad for him?” Hannah let it out before she even thought about what she was saying. Maggie probably thought she was a horrible person.
But instead, Maggie shook her head. “No, you have a right to your feelings.” But she could hear a hesitation in Maggie’s words, as if she was pausing to choose just the right ones. “Are you going to tell Emma?”
“I don’t know.” She had never really talked to her daughter about Joel Destin. She’d never told her about how he hadn’t reached out when she was born, or even once asked her name.
Maggie nodded.
“Do you think I should go to see him?”
She shrugged. “I think you should do what you think is best.”
“That’s just it, I have no idea.” Hannah played with a potato chip. “Do I owe him, because I’m his daughter? Do I just forget how cruel he was to me? To us!” Hannah could feel the emotions she had pushed away for so many years building up inside her chest. “He didn’t care what happened to me, or to Emma. I was just a scared kid! How can I forgive him for that?”
“You’re absolutely right.” Maggie sighed, her face pained. “But maybe forgiveness isn’t just abouthim.”
* * *
Jake didn’t usually go to his parents’ place unless there was a direct invitation, but today, he called and invited himself over. Elaine had her ladies’ golf club that morning but said she would be home shortly after lunch.
When she answered the front door, she was still in her golfing attire.
“How was your game?” he asked, not really caring about the answer.
“Good,” she said, leaning over for a kiss on the cheek. “I ran into your fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Hoffman. Do you remember that field trip to Fort Snelling?”
He nodded. “Yes. I think I spent my entire allowance on rock candy.”
“You did.” She made a face. “That stuff is so disgusting.”
She walked toward the kitchen, and he followed. “So, what do you need?”
He decided to just get straight to it. “I heard you offered Hannah Higgins a job?”
“I did.” She looked back at him. “Is that a crime?”
He rolled his eyes. “Did you do it in front of the whole congregation?”
She stopped and swung around to face him. “Is that what she said?”
“No, but I can’t think of another time you talked to her at church, other than when you sat in her pew.”
She looked at him. “You like her.”
“What?”
“You like the girl.” She smiled and went back to the kitchen. “I offered her a job because you were worried about her. I thought that was a nice thing to do. Am I wrong?”
