After dinner, Robbie excused himself, going to his room with his book, closing the door behind him. Madison needed help with her bath, so Esme disappeared into the bathroom withher. I cleared the table, loaded the dishwasher, wiped down the counters. Trevor watched from his bed in the corner, clearly ready for his dinner. I scooped a cup of kibble into his bowl and gave him fresh water.
Twenty minutes later, Esme came out of the bathroom looking even more worn out than before. Madison was in her pajamas, cast-arm wrapped in a plastic bag, hair damp from the bath.
“Can Grady tuck me in?” Madison asked.
Esme glanced at me. “If he doesn’t mind.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Yay.” Madison launched herself at me, wrapping her one free arm around my legs, hanging on as we headed toward the little alcove off Esme’s bedroom. Once there, I held back the quilt, and she slipped between the sheets, staring up at me with big eyes.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t come back,” Madison said.
“Why would you think that?”
“My dad left and never came back. That’s what Robbie tells me anyway. I was a baby then.”
“Well, I will always come back as long as you’re here to welcome me.”
She grinned. “I’m not going anyplace except to school. Not tomorrow, though. It’s Saturday.”
“That’s a relief.” I grinned back at her.
She looked up at me, big blue eyes earnest as she lowered her voice. “Grady, Mommy’s really sad.”
“I noticed that.”
“Robbie too.”
“Do you know why?” I asked gently.
“Robbie wants to go to college this summer and Mommy doesn’t have the money. And then she found out about my toe.She was crying all night. I could hear her when she thought I was asleep.”
Robbie had gotten into the program at USC. I knew he would. No wonder he was so down at dinner. “What’s wrong with your toe?”
She pushed her bare foot out of the covers to show me that her big toe was bandaged. “My shoes are too small, and they made my toe bleed. Mommy got really upset.” Madison’s chin quivered. “That’s why I didn’t want to tell her. She just got me shoes when school started.”
“You’re having a growth spurt.”
“A spurt?” She giggled despite the tears that gathered in her lashes. “That sounds weird.”
“It just means you grew a lot in a short amount of time, which explains why your shoes are too small.”
“I told her I could wear my flip-flops but she said it was too cold.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to work. I’ll help your mom figure out what to do about getting you a new pair. Maybe I can take you shoe shopping tomorrow.”
“Okay.” She reached up to cup my cheek, so tenderly that I almost burst into tears. “We need you. Thank you for coming back to us.”
“Always will, Sweet Pea. Now, get some sleep. We have a bid day of shopping tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait,” she said, yawning. “Good night, Grady.”
I kissed her forehead and shut off the lamp, which prompted a nightlight to switch on, casting shadows in the small room. “Night, Sweat Pea.”
Shaken, I walked back to the living room. Madison’s toe had been bleeding because of her shoes. Robbie thought he couldn’t go to the summer program. This was all wrong. But I could fix it.If I’d had any doubt about accepting my inheritance, it had faded into nothing.
Esme was sitting on the couch, with Trevor’s head in her lap. She looked small and fragile and without her usual effervescent spirit, as if the world had finally broken her. The shoes must have been the last straw.
