“She was so distraught when I told her about your mother and you girls. She’d already missed his funeral, and now she was finding out he had another family. That her own marriage was a farce.”
Gram shook her head. “He was a good man who did a terrible thing. I keep telling myself that. I didn’t want to tell you girls. I knew how hurt you’d be. But I see all the blame you’ve put on your poor mother, and she just doesn’t deserve that.”
Their mother... Maddy drew back. “That’s why they were divorcing.”
Gram nodded. “After Nadine left, I causally asked your mom if she knew a Nadine. That’s how she knew I’d found out. She’d found out about Nadine shortly before that last summer. I’m sure she was quite devastated. They’d agreed to one last summer here in Seahaven.”
“Why didn’t she just tell us the truth after he died? We’ve held her at arm’s length all these years.”
“Same as me, honey. She didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Did Daddy have children with this... other woman?” Nora asked.
Gram shook her head. “You were his only kids. And he loved you girls so much. Despite his terrible choices, he was a good father to you. Your mom knew it would break your hearts to find out what he’d done.
“And once he was gone... she didn’t want to sully your memory of him. And truth be told, I didn’t either. But it just isn’t right, the way your mother has taken the blame all these years.”
Gram wore a pained look. A distant expression came over her face, her eyes looking off to some faraway place. “I should’ve known. I should’ve done something. But I never dreamed Stanley would turn out just like his—”
Her eyes refocused on the present, and she snapped her mouth shut.
Gram straightened, sniffling, and knuckled her tears away. “Well. Never mind. We should get this box stowed away somewhere. Did you girls take whatever you wanted to keep? Nora, did you get the fishing hat? Oh yes, there it is.”
The sisters stared at each other. An odd silence had fallen over the room. Gram had eased off the bed and began pushing the light box into the closet. As she disappeared into the closet Nora finally spoke.
“Gram? What were you going to say?”
A moment later their grandmother appeared at the closet door. Her face was crestfallen, her shoulders stooped. Her eyes looked so sad Maddy could hardly bear it.
“That Daddy would turn out just like who?” Maddy asked.
The air-conditioning kicked on, filling the house with its quiet hum. Maddy couldn’t move. Could hardly breathe.
Gram was quiet so long Maddy wasn’t sure she was going to answer. But finally she did. “Your grandfather. Stanley turned out just like his daddy.”
Maddy felt a shock down to her core. She had only vague memories of her grandfather. He’d passed when she was eight. But everyone talked about him as if he were a paragon of virtue—including Gram.
Maddy shook her head. She was so confused.
“What are you saying, Gram?” Nora asked. “Was Gramps...?”
Their grandmother’s sigh seemed to come from her toes. Emma made room for her on the bed, and she sat down again.
“He was a good father to your dad. And I know he loved me... but yes, your grandpa was unfaithful. It was nothing like what your dad did. He had long periods of faithfulness. Then I’d hear something or find something in his pants pocket and...” She shook her head. “He’d always break it off once I found out, because I’d threaten to leave him. But I was never going to leave. I think he knew that. Otherwise, why would he betray me so many times?”
Maddy grabbed her grandmother’s hand. “Oh, Gram. I’m so sorry. I always thought...”
“I know,” Gram said. “You thought exactly what I wanted you to think. The truth of the matter is I was too big a coward to draw a line in the sand with him.”
Maddy sat there, letting the shock of revelations roll over her like waves crashing the shore.
“Once I found out what your dad had done to your mother, I tried to be there for her. We’ve kept in contact over the years. We have a lot in common, and I feel so guilty for what your father did to her. I allowed your grandfather to cheat on me, and your dad had a front seat to it all.”
“He knew Gramps cheated on you?” Emma asked.
Gram shook her head. “If he did, he never brought it up. I’ve been over and over this in my mind since I found out about Nadine. Did your dad learn the behavior from his father, or was it generational sin, passed on genetically? The Bible talks about that, you know, generational sin. I just never believed Stanley would—” She shook her head. “Well. I have regrets, I’ll tell you that.”
Maddy squeezed Gram’s hand, reeling from the news. “I always thought you’d never remarried because no one else could live up to Gramps.”
