Chapter 12 - The Grandfather Who Finally Spoke
Robert arrived at Nora's office carrying a folded paper bag.
He placed it on the table as though its contents might burn him.
Inside was Lily's pumpkin pie plate, still wrapped in foil.
The pastry stars had collapsed into the filling.
"She asked me to save it," he said quietly.
I struggled to breathe.
Robert told us that Lily had asked for turkey because he had offered everyone seconds.
Megan had been irritated by the noise, the children, and an earlier argument about money.
She had snapped at Lily before striking her.
He saw it plainly.
"Then why did you let us leave?" I asked.
His eyes watered.
"Because I have spent forty years letting Patricia tell me what keeping the family together looks like."
The apology sounded familiar.
I had used its shape myself, over and over.
But Robert didn't ask me to absolve him.
He said he had been wrong and was prepared to say so in any proper setting.
He also said Patricia had told everyone the camera malfunctioned immediately after dessert.
"Was that true?" Nora asked.
"I don't know."
He explained that the camera system stored recordings remotely and that he had never managed its account.
He had, however, saved a dated note from the evening detailing what he witnessed.
Nora documented its origin and limits.
Robert pushed the paper bag toward me.
"Would you give Lily her plate?"
I imagined my daughter asking why Grandpa had not helped her.
"Not yet," I said.
He accepted the answer.
Before he left, he stopped at the door.
"Megan believes this all started because she hit Lily," he said.
"But Patricia was already worried you would discover the loan."
I asked whether Megan knew about it.
Robert's expression changed.
"She's the reason they needed the money."
Then he told us Megan had arranged a meeting with a potential buyer for a property she didn't own.
May you like
The property was our house.
