My father’s voice went quiet in the next room, then the phone clinked as he set it down. A moment later he stood at the door, looking thinner than usual and a little grey in the face.
“Hello, Papa,” I said.
His eyes darted from me to Archie. “What’s going on?”
“A lot, Mr. McCormick,” Archie said politely, breaking the ice and sparing me the need to respond. “We’d like to have a chat. May we sit?” My father nodded and pulled up a chair for each of us. “Olive has told me everything,” Archie continued. “About the past, the child, everything is out in the open now, and we’ve decided to reconcile.”
My parents stared at us.
“We’re going to marry the first chance we get,” Archie went on. “And…” He looked to me.
“And Archie and I are going to raise Addie together, we’ll be her parents.”
They turned, looking at me as if I’d spoken in another language. But there was something desperate in their eyes, in their effort to keep up.
“I am her mother, after all.”
My brother had taken a seat in the corner. “Um, should I go and get George?”
“Yes,” my mother said. “No, no, stay where you are.”
I waited for someone to protest, and I was ready to fight back, my heart was beating fast. No one said a word.
“We’re leaving for Europe this afternoon, in fact our ship sails at fourP.M.,” Archie said gently. “Olive has an excellent opportunity to appear in concert with Alberto Ricci. He invited her and wants to introduce her to his audience there. It’ll be grand.”
He was singing my praises, and I loved him for it. But my head was about to burst, and my heart raced while I waited for them to respond to what I’d proposed. I looked around, but there was no sign of Addie. “And we’ll be taking Addie with us,” I repeated, in case they hadn’t grasped what I was saying. When I spoke, my mouth went dry.
“You’re going to sing with Alberto Ricci!” Junior whistled. I gave him a quick smile, then looked back to my parents, trying to gauge their next move. Still no one said anything.
“Where is Addie?” I asked.
“She’s in her room,” my mother said absently. “Your room.”
“Why?” And then, without waiting for a response, “I’d like to see her.”
My mother nodded blankly, so I set my handbag down on the side table, took off my cardigan and walked up the stairs.
The door was ajar and I could hear her singing as I walked across the hallway. I peeked inside. She was sitting up in a small cot with raised sides, playing with her dolls. She looked up at me.
“Hello, Addie,” I said softly. She immediately stood and reached her arms up. “Would you like to come out of there?” I asked, pickingher up, sitting her on my hip. She felt slightly heavier than she had in Rockville. “I’m so happy to see you, sweetheart, do you remember me?”
She nodded.
“Oh good! Because I’ve been thinking about you so often, and I was very excited to see you again. There’s someone I’d like to introduce you to, he’s downstairs. Would you like to go downstairs and see the others?”
She nodded again. “Dolls,” she said, pointing at them in her cot.
“Of course,” I said, reaching for them. “They should come too.”
As I walked down the stairs with Addie and her dolls in my arms, I could hear my father’s voice—not shouting, but elevated, agitated—coming from the dining room. My mother was joining in, and Archie was part of the conversation.
“Everything is gone, we’re ruined,” my father said.
“We can’t even stay here,” my mother chimed in. “We’re finally settled, and the house is decorated, the boys are happy, and we have to pack up and head back to Minnesota with our tail between our legs.”
“With our tail between our legs, that’s right—and it’s all my fault, I suppose?” my father snapped.
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
