“Why not?”
“Because it would be so awkward and awful. Plus she would never agree.”
“You don’t know that until you ask her. I’m sure she has questions, as well. She might even be willing to explain what happened. Let’s invite them to dinner and see what happens. Maybe she’ll surprise you.”
“What about Victoria?”
“She’ll be there, too.”
“I doubt that.”
Milton smiled at her. “She’ll be there, too,” he repeated. “Can you get in touch with Cindy?”
“I’m sure I can find her number.”
He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Then do it. We’ll all have dinner together. Sunlight is always the best disinfectant, my love.”
She smiled. “If it’s dinner, then it’ll be dark.”
“We’ll turn on all the lights.”
8
Shannon stood by the printer, waiting for the brochure samples to be printed. She’d been working on the layout for their new nine-million-dollar listing. Usually they used one of a couple of different templates, but once a sale price approached ten million, custom work was usually a smart idea.
For the past few days she’d felt unsettled and confused. Ridiculous emotions, considering absolutely nothing about her life was different than it had been a week ago. She was still working for her mom, secretly engaged and trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. There was absolutely no new news.
Only, it felt like there was. For some reason, she couldn’t seem to shake the wholeHey, you were almost given up for adoptionthing. She found herself wondering what would have been different, how she would have been different, if her mom had gone through with it. Just as upsetting was the guilt over how much her mother had given up and, honestly, suffered because of her decision. It was a lot to think about.
The printer shot out the copy. She looked at the new layout, squinting slightly to see if she liked the aesthetic. Rather than the typical housefront shot, she’d gone with a view of the koi pond with a staged cocktail table and two chairs. The picture looked like it was from an upscale, tropical hotel, invitingthe viewer to come on in and take a seat. She thought maybe it worked pretty well.
Her mom walked into the printer room. “There you are,” she said. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Shannon held out the sample. “For the new listing. I wanted to try something different.”
Her mother glanced at the paper. “Oh, I like this. It’s really good.” She scanned the text. “I see what you’re doing, and it works.” She turned over the page. “You have the usual pictures here with the information.” She smiled. “It’s great, honey. You know you really do have excellent design skills. Have you ever thought of maybe studying graphic design? Or something else creative? I could look into trade schools or—”
Shannon took back the flyer. “Mom, stop. Please. You’re not responsible for my lack of career clarity.”
Her mother sighed. “But I want you to be happy.”
A familiar refrain, Shannon thought, annoyed with herself rather than her mother. Cindy’s desire to make her life better wasn’t a bad thing. It was wonderful and supportive and demonstrated how much she cared. No, the problem lay with Shannon who was oh so willing to let her mom step in whenever things got rough. She claimed to want independence, yet she never did the work required to get there.
Now she smiled at her mom. “I’m happy.” Not really, but the lie seemed necessary. “You need to stop thinking about me and my life and focus on yourself.”
Her mother stared at her in confusion. “But you’re my daughter. Worrying about you is my job.”
“Maybe you could shift a little of that attention over to Luis and the wedding you’re planning. I’ll still be here when all that’s arranged.”
Instead of looking doubtful or unsettled at the concept of not spending every waking moment thinking about her daughter, her mother suddenly appeared to feel... guilty.
“Mom?”
Cindy looked around, then grabbed her arm. “Come into my office,” she said in a whisper.
That didn’t sound good, but Shannon dutifully followed her. Cindy shut the door behind her, then faced her daughter, shifting from one foot to the other, as if about to confess to a bank robbery.
“What?” Shannon asked. “Just say it.” Her stomach lurched. Oh no! Had her mom found out about the engagement? But it couldn’t be that. If Cindy had found out from someone else, she would be emotionally devastated. There would be tears and recriminations and a whole truckload of really bad things.
