She smiles. “Do you think that means he likes me?”
“I sure hope so.”
She pulls away, confused. I watch the insecurity of a dating girl flit across her face. This little twerp has already hurt her, and there’s nothing I can do about it but stand back and watch.
“What about Teo?” Cassie asks.
“What about him?”
“I heard you and Aunt Kaitlyn talking about him. Is he going to help you?”
“You shouldn’t be listening in on conversations.”
“How would I ever learn anything, then?”
“You could ask.”
“And you’ll tell me?”
“Yes. I told you before, if I can answer, I will.”
“So tell me.”
I pat the bed, and she sits down with me. “Teo’s going to help us figure out who Franny is. She’s been lying and tricking people, and we want to put a stop to that.”
“To get money? Is that why she did it?”
Was that what this was all about? A payday for Franny? But if so, why would she marry Joshua? She could just file her claim and be done with it. Take her money and run back to wherever it was she came from. Sticking around didn’t seem like Franny. But then again, I clearly don’t know Franny at all. I know someone she invented to get access. She’d felt familiar because she’d told me what I wanted to hear. Like all good confidence men, she knew how to extract the information she wanted, then turn it back on the source so it felt like they knew things they didn’t.
“I don’t know. Maybe we’ll find out someday.”
“Is Uncle Joshua going to be embarrassed?”
“Why?”
“When everyone finds out about Franny? Because now everyone knows they were supposed to get married, because of that article, and then everyone will know he was tricked.”
“I hope he’s not embarrassed. She tricked everyone, not just him.”
“Will you call the police?”
Another step I haven’t thought of. Do I want to see Franny punished? No, I don’t. What she did was wrong, but there was good in it, too. Look how hard she worked to get Joshua and the girls their compensation money, even though it had been her rule that made it hard for them to get it in the first place. What was that about, I wonder? Why was she so insistent about a DNA connection? Was it merely to draw attention away from herself, to name the thing people might think she was—a fraud—so she was the one who said it first?
“I’m not sure. That depends on what we find out, I guess.”
“But if someone lies to get money, then that’s fraud, isn’t it? They should go to jail.”
I shiver. “She hasn’t gotten any money yet.”
“People who do bad things should be punished. That’s what Dad always used to say.”
“He did, didn’t he?” I stroke Cassie’s hair. “So tell me more about this boy.”
36
SOMETHING, SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE
KAITLYN
The second e-mail from Eileen arrived a year later. Kaitlyn was on maternity leave then, or that’s what she was telling people. Her postpartum depression was keeping her from returning to work. Worse than any depression she’d ever felt before. Her days were a foggy mix of sleep and caring for Emily when she was able to. Joshua had hired a nurse to be there during the day. Kaitlyn felt ashamed that she needed help. In truth, the nurse was there for both of them. They both needed caring for.
Despite everything, Emily was thriving. A bouncing, happy baby girl with ringlets in her hair. She cooed and sighed and smiled. Everyone was always telling them they should take her to an agent. That her baby belonged in catalogs, in commercials. As if it were a compliment that people thought her baby was attractive enough to sell things.
Kaitlyn knew she should be happy. But instead she was bitter. Bitter motherhood didn’t feel like a blessing but a curse. That the weight she’d gained wouldn’t leave even though she was barely eating. That Joshua thought he could farm out his care of her and their daughter to someone more competent. It all felt horribly unfair. What had she done to deserve this? She’d made mistakes in her life, but hadn’t everyone? All she wanted was a fresh start. A peaceful three months at home with her baby. Was that too much to ask?
To keep up the pretense that she might return to work someday soon, Kaitlyn was still checking her work e-mail. It was fall, and the leaves were changing. That’s how Eileen started her e-mail: It’s fall. The leaves are changing. Another year’s gone by, and I still haven’t found my mother. Only, I think I did find her. I think it’s you. Will you please, please contact me? Will you please get in touch? I’m so sad.
It was these last words that got to Kaitlyn. She was so sad, too. Maybe there was something she could do to help this girl. Let her know that someone cared about her struggle. Give her someone to talk to.
Kaitlyn wrote back.
• • •
Cecily woke Kaitlyn before it was light out.
“What’s going on?” Kaitlyn asked. “What time is it?”
“It’s six.”
Kaitlyn rolled over and rubbed her eyes. Cecily was a shadowy form above her.
“We need to move you to somewhere safer,” Cecily said.
“You think that’s necessary?”
“My friend Teo, the documentary filmmaker I told you about, has agreed to help us. But the way he’s going to do that is by hiring a private detective, and I’m going to have to meet with him today. Do you want to be in the house while a PI is sniffing around?”
“That doesn’t sound like the best idea.”
“Right?”
Cecily snapped on the light. Kaitlyn shut her eyes, flashing back to when she still lived in her childhood home. Her mother used to do this. Pry Kaitlyn from the safety of her bed. Make her face the world when all she wanted to do was wallow in the dark.
“Up you get.”
Kaitlyn threw the covers back. She’d slept in
