I sat down next to her. “Let’s talk. ”
She kept stroking Trevor’s ears, staring at nothing. “Sure. What’s up?”
“You tell me. What’s wrong?”
“A letter came yesterday. Addressed to Robbie.”
I waited, knowing what was coming.
“Robbie got into a STEM program. At USC. I didn’t even know he’d applied.”
“His teacher encouraged him to,” I said. “But he didn’t think he’d get in.”
She lifted her gaze. “He told you?”
“Yeah, he did.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice had shifted from sad to angry in a heartbeat.
“Because he didn’t think he’d get in and he didn’t want to worry you about the cost. And you’ve had a lot on your mind the last few days.”
She closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh. “That’s what he said too.”
“I knew they’d want him.”
She opened her eyes, turning her gaze to me. “They’re only taking eight kids. Out of four hundred applicants.”
“That’s incredible.”
“It is, yeah. Guess what the price tag is? Fifty-eight-hundred bucks. The deposit is due in two weeks. Two thousand just to hold his spot. Which obviously I don’t have. His heart’s broken. He won’t say it, but I can see it in his eyes.” She stopped,pressing her fingers into her forehead. “Unless I ask Gillian or Seraphina. Which I don’t want to do. They’ve helped me so much already.”
“They like to help,” I said gently. “Especially if it’s for the kids.”
“I just can’t keep asking.” She dropped her hands, one resting on Trevor’s head and the other on her lap. She looked at me from red-rimmed eyes. “I’m tired, Grady. It’s time to make some changes. Big ones.”
“What do you mean?”
“And it’s not just the USC program,” she said, ignoring my question. “Madison’s been walking around in shoes that are too small. Her toenail—it’s cracked and bleeding, and she didn’t tell me because she knew I was worried about money.”
A tear slid down her cheek. I wanted so badly to brush it away and bring her into my arms.
“She’s six years old and protecting me from knowing she’s in pain. What kind of mother am I?”
“A good one. You know that.”
She shook her head. “Robbie tried to act like it didn’t matter, like he understood, but I could see in his face that it’s another thing I’ve failed to give him.” She dipped her chin. “I called my parents today.”
I flinched as if she’d smacked me. “Are you kidding me? After how they’ve treated you? What did they say? Did they apologize?” I was so stunned by everything she’d just said I couldn’t think straight.
“No, they were awful, just like I knew they would be.” She looked at me, eyes blazing. “My mother said, ‘We knew you’d come to your senses eventually.’ And my father got on the phone and told me this is what happens when you don’t think things through. When you follow your heart instead of your head. And the worst part is he’s right. I’m thirty-four years old, begging myparents for money like I’m twenty again, and I have no one to blame but myself. I’m exactly that person. The one who makes terrible decisions and then has to ask for help.”
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” She whirled to face me. “I got pregnant at twenty by a man who turned out to be worthless. I dropped out of college. I’m running a flower shop that barely breaks even. I can’t afford health insurance. I can’t send my brilliant son to a program he deserves. I can’t even keep my daughter in shoes that fit.”
The words came out before I could stop them. “I can pay the fees. I can get Madison shoes. I can get her five hundred pairs if that’s what she needs.”
She stared at me. “What?”
