Devyn stopped eating. “She told you that?”
“Not directly. I learned a little from Dad, and I put the rest together from offhand comments Mom made while I was a kid.”
“You know more about her history than I do. Mom and I spent a fair amount of time together, but she always shut the conversation down whenever I tried to ask about her past.”
“I got the impression she wanted to forget it.” Lauren dropped her voice as she chased a piece of ground beef around her plate. “Just like she wanted to forget me and Dad.”
Devyn’s stomach clenched at the hurt in Lauren’s voice, but she stifled the impulse to reassure her that wasn’t the case. Because evidence suggested it was.
“I always knew she’d never come back when you two left, even though she said she would after you turned eighteen and were old enough to be on your own.” Lauren smashed the ground beef with the tines of her fork as she continued. “She didn’t even make it home for holidays once she got the concierge job in New York.”
“I don’t think she was made for small-town life.”
Lauren made a rude noise. “No kidding. Mom may not have been born into a rich family or had a college education, but her mindset was big-city through and through. She worked hard to acquire a cosmopolitan polish. I mean, before you two left for San Francisco, she taught herself to speak French and studied fashion and immersed herself in cultural pursuits and the arts.” She took a sip of water. “Do you stay in close touch with her?”
“No. After she married Philippe and moved to France, it was like her old life didn’t exist anymore. These days I get an occasional text from her, but that’s about it. To be honest, even when we lived together in New York, I was mostly on my own. Do you hear from her?”
“I get a card on my birthday and at Christmas and a text once in a while. And she did call me twice while I was in the hospital.”
That was news.
“You never mentioned you’d talked to her.”
“There wasn’t much to mention. I don’t think we were on the phone for more than three or four minutes in either call. She’s almost like a stranger to me at this point. And that’s fine. I had Dad, and he was the best.”
“Yes, he was. I wish I’d been able to spend more time with him.”
“I wish I had too. We lived in the same house, but he was always busy. Did you know he took extra weekend delivery gigs sometimes to pay expenses?”
Devyn frowned. “No. He never told me that.”
“You weren’t here to tell.”
“But we stayed in touch. I called him a lot, and he sent me cards and notes every couple of weeks. I felt closer to him than I ever did to Mom. I always envied you for having Dad all to yourself.”
Lauren squinted at her. “Seriously?”
“Yes. That’s why I came home for holidays or breaks whenever I could.”
“Not after Dad died.”
“Because I didn’t feel welcome anymore.” May as well spit out the truth. “You didn’t seem like you wanted me in your life.”
Lauren poked at a carrot. “I didn’t. I was jealous and resentful and angry. More so after we lost Dad.”
“At least I understand better now why you kept me at arm’s length. I knew my dancing had a huge impact on your life—and Dad’s—but after some of the conversations we’ve had since the accident, I’m beginning to understand it was even bigger than I realized.” Devyn scraped a stubborn piece of melted cheese off her plate with her fork. “I wish Dad had lived to see that all his sacrifices paid off.”
“Maybe he knows.”
“I hope so.” After a few moments, she shifted gears. There had been enough heavy discussion for one night, and she had an idea to broach. “On a different subject, I have a proposition for you.”
Lauren gave her a wary look. “What kind of proposition?”
“I was impressed with your sewing skills on Sunday, so I asked about the status of the costume crew for the show. They have a few volunteers but no one who’s gung ho about leading the charge. They’d be thrilled to have someone on board who not only knows how to sew but can decide what’s needed and marshal the volunteers to either find the items or sew them. Would you be interested in taking that on?”
Lauren stared at her. “You want me to be in charge of costumes?”
“You’d have a lot of help.”
