The Pie
“I made a pie,” I said to Greg. “I made an apple pie and I sat in my apartment in a dress eating it out of the pan because you told me everyone wanted to be with their own families that year.”
“Chloe, I can explain—”
“Then explain Aunt Sandy’s birthday. Explain Sadie’s wedding. Explain why every single person standing in this driveway thinks I stopped showing up.”
And my father’s voice filled that garage.
“I believed him at first, Chloe. That’s my part in this. He made every single lie sound like kindness.”
How He Did It
That’s the piece I have not been able to put down.
Greg never pushed me out. Not once.
He convinced me I was being considerate by staying away.
Don’t call Sandy this week, she’s not sleeping well.
I wouldn’t bother Sadie, she’s completely overwhelmed with the venue.
Nolan’s been in and out of the doctor, they’re keeping it small.
Every one of them arrived wrapped in concern. And every time I almost picked up a phone, I heard whichever sentence he’d given me and put it back down, and I thought I was being a good person.
Dad kept talking.
“There’s more. Greg borrowed money from Sandy, from Nolan, and from Sadie. He gave each of them a different reason.”
Uncle Nolan’s whole face changed.
When He Tried to Leave
Greg started toward the driveway.
I stepped in front of him.
“You’re staying.”
“Chloe, not here. Not in front of—”
“Dad picked here. That was the whole instruction.”
And his eyes went past me to the twenty people in that driveway.
And I finally understood the thing that had been just out of reach for ten minutes.
He was not afraid of me finding out.
He was afraid of everybody finding out at the same time.
Because for five years, the entire structure had depended on nobody comparing notes.
The Three Different Reasons
I turned to my aunt.
“What did he tell you?”
“That his roof was leaking. Eight thousand.”
Uncle Nolan: “Medical bills. He said the insurance had denied something.”
Sadie wiped her face. “He told me he was three months behind on his mortgage.”
I knew for a fact that my brother owned his house outright after our mother’s estate settled.
