Page 114 of A Matter of Time

“They did.”

“Did they offer you a beverage?”

He squinted at me. “Of course.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Since when do you ask me?”

“Okay, that’s fair.” I nodded. “Why didn’t you ask your mother why she gave you up?”

“It hardly matters now.”

“I think it matters to you.”

“I think it matters to you,” he said mockingly. “And the why is fairly obvious, is it not?”

“Is it?”

“She was young, Jory. Too young to have a baby.”

I crossed my arms.

“Oh, do share what you’re thinking.”

“Not if you’re going to be like that.”

“I suspect, because you seem to always believe that you know what’s best for me in every instance, that you have an opinion on this matter.”

“Better than you,” I muttered under my breath.

“Pardon me?”

“Nothing.”

“Jory.”

I glared at him.

“What? Speak,” he commanded.

“I think I know what you should do.”

“When?”

“Now.”

“And what is that?”

“You need to go back and ask all your questions in case you end up not seeing them ever again.”

“I won’t see them ever again,” he confirmed.

“Crap.”

“So you see, I won’t be asking any more questions.”

“We could go back.”