35. Theo #2
I raised an eyebrow. “You keeping your hands in that sink so you don’t rip this stuff away from me”—I shook the packaging—“and inspect it for choking hazards?” Will’s overprotectiveness where Caiden was concerned was legendary. “Or maybe you wanna check and make sure that the plastic’s BPA-free?”
“Stop giving me shit and get out of here.” Will flicked water at me. “Go sit with Grandma. You can ask her about you-know-what. It’s the perfect time.”
It had been a while since we’d been co-conspirators; I’d missed the feeling. I nodded and turned to go, just as Mom sidled into the kitchen.
“Hello, Theo,” she said, her tone silky and the words slurred, like she’d gotten into the booze. “Have you shared the news with your brother?”
…and here it came.
Will stepped in front of me, making himself a buffer. “Theo told me, and I think this is a good thing, Mom. If you’d just hear him out—”
“I’ve heard enough,” she hissed. “And I’ve already gone to a lawyer. He said I had a case.”
Oh, fuck. I dodged around my brother, ignoring his attempts to block me. “Seriously, Mom? Don’t get in the middle of this. You’ll make it worse.”
“Make it worse?” Her eyes narrowed. “What could be worse than the way you betrayed our family?”
“I didn’t betray anyone!”
“Keep your voices down,” Will begged, a plea that did exactly nothing.
“How are you paying for this?” I demanded as my blood pressure spiked. Oh, shit. “Tell me you didn’t.”
My mother lifted her chin. “I can spend the money you give me any way I want. And I choose to use it to defend our family.”
“Oh my fucking God.” Rage pulsed through me, and I fought to contain it.
If I started hurling the plates from Will’s dish drain, I was no better than our father.
“That money was to feed you. To make sure there was something in your freezer other than vodka. Not to fund some goddamn misguided mission for revenge!”
“You call it misguided? I call it justice.” My mother’s voice rose louder.
“Those bastards stole Lily and raised her goyishe. Well, the world’s going to find out they’re descended from poor Jews.
They’re not the high-and-mighty WASPs they claim to be, and soon everyone will know it.
” Hands on her hips, she stared me down.
“I put down a retainer, and my lawyer will take the rest on contingency. I’m going to sue the pants off those bigoted thieves.
And we’ll see who has the last laugh then. ”
“You—” I opened and shut my mouth, so angry I couldn’t find the words to speak. I took a step toward our mother, fury making me shake all over, but Will pressed both hands against my chest, pushing me back.
“Go,” he said, pointing to the living room. “I’ll handle this.”
I took a deep breath, trying to bring myself under control.
My mother’s words from this afternoon, You’re just like me, echoed in my ears.
Maybe that was true, maybe it wasn’t. But I knew one thing: I refused to be like my father.
No matter how much I longed to shake some sense into her, I would never, ever do it.
Nodding at Will in curt acknowledgment, I turned, heading for the doorway.
“That’s right,” my mother called after me. “Do what you do best. Run away.”
I froze, about to turn back. But behind me, Will spoke up, his voice steady. “No one’s running anywhere. Just go, Theo. I’ll work this out.”
I managed to leave, but it was an effort. Gritting my teeth, I made my way into the living room, where Grandma Susi sat in her favorite armchair.
She smiled at me, and it was like someone had yanked the shutters open in a dark room. “Did I hear shouting?”
Thank God for her lousy hearing. “No big deal, Grandma. You know how Mom gets.”
She brushed a strand of hair from my face, and I hoped she couldn’t read the anger I was working hard to hide. “Always with the hair in your eyes. How are you, bubbeleh?”
“I’m good, Grandma. How are you feeling? How’s your hip?” She’d broken it a couple years before, and though she’d had a successful replacement surgery, I knew it still bothered her.
“Eh, nothing to complain about. Those people at the home, they have me on death’s door the moment the slightest thing bothers me. I tell them, I’m not going anywhere.” She cupped my chin. “You know what’s strange, though, Theodore?”
“No, Grandma. What?” I arched a brow, trying to figure out how I could possibly turn this conversation to our search without upsetting her—when she did it for me.
“I’ve been dreaming about my mother,” she said.
“I haven’t dreamed of her in years, may her memory be a blessing.
But the other night, I saw her, wearing her favorite green dress.
She looked almost happy. I had forgotten she could look that way.
” Tears glossed her eyes. “I wanted to tell her how sorry I was for everything that happened, but she disappeared.”
Her favorite green dress. Just like in my dream. What the ever-loving hell?
“I’m sure she forgives you, Grandma,” I managed, echoing what May had told me and feeling as freaked out as I had when I’d woken up to hear my piano play. “Wherever she is, I’m sure she’s not still upset with you. In her heart, she knew it wasn’t your fault.”