Was that a game?
Daniel looked up. "Everything okay?"
"Yes, sweetheart. I just forgot to check the rolls in the oven. Carry on."
I left the room, but I didn't go to the kitchen. I slipped into the small laundry room off the hall and shut the door.
My hands were shaking so hard I almost dropped my phone. I scrolled through my contacts until I found the name I hadn't called in months.
He answered on the third ring. "Clara?"
I left the room, but I didn't go to the kitchen.
"Tom, I need you to come over. Now."
"Now? Clara, I'm in the middle of something."
"It's important, Tom. It's about Evelyn."
Tom's breath hissed. "I'm on my way."
I leaned against the washing machine and took a long, jagged breath. I needed to get back in there.
I needed to stall until Tom arrived.
"Tom, I need you to come over. Now."
I filled a glass with water and walked back into the dining room. Daniel and Grace were leaning toward each other, their heads nearly touching as they laughed at some private joke.
Seeing them like that made a hot, sharp bitterness rise in my throat.
I sat down and sipped my water. "Grace, tell me about your mother."
Grace tensed.
Daniel's smile faded into a frown. "Mom?"
"Grace, tell me about your mother."
"I'm just curious. If you two are getting married, I want to know who I'll be sharing holidays with. It's only natural."
Grace and Daniel exchanged a quick, loaded look. Daniel gave her a small, encouraging nod.
Grace swallowed. "You won't be sharing holidays with my parents, Clara. My father passed away a few years ago. And I don't talk to my mother."
"Is that so?"
"Mom..." Daniel said, his voice dropping into a warning register.
Grace and Daniel exchanged a quick, loaded look.
"I have a right to know more about the woman joining this family, Daniel."
"During the first meeting, Mom? What is going on with you tonight?"
I checked my watch. Tom would be pulling into the driveway any second. I decided then that I wouldn't wait for him to start the fire.
If Daniel was going to hate me for what I was about to do, he might as well hear the whole truth.
I stood and walked to the bookshelf in the corner.
I wouldn't wait for him to start the fire.
I pulled out a heavy photo album.
"Mom, seriously, can we just finish dinner?" Daniel asked, his frustration mounting.
"Be patient, Daniel. There are things I chose not to tell you, but now you need to know."
I flipped the pages until I found the photo I wanted: two young women standing in front of a rose bush. One was me, looking tired but happy. The other was Evelyn. We had our arms linked.
Grace leaned forward. "That's my mom!"
I pulled out a heavy photo album.
"Yes, that's your mother. And that's me."
I turned the page to the wedding photos. There was my brother, Tom, with Evelyn beside him, wearing the emerald pendant.
"The day your mother married my brother, I gave that pendant to her. It belonged to my grandmother, but she'd been my best friend for years, and I wanted to welcome her into the family as my sister."
The color left Grace's cheeks.
Daniel stared at the photo, his jaw dropping. "Wait. Grace's mom was married to Uncle Tom?"
