“Why?”
“I don’t know. She had secrets. Old photographs, letters, things she never explained.”
“What kind of things?”
“Once she mentioned a man with your last name. Robert, I think.”
Grace and I weren’t close.
I went still. “My father’s name was Robert.”
Claire stared at me.
“Who was he to Grace?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“You never asked?”
She had secrets.
“Sometimes. She changed the subject.”
“Where are those letters?”
“In boxes. After Grace died, I had three kids to feed and a funeral to pay for.”
“Three?”
“My two and Noah.”
My father’s name was Robert.
“And Noah’s father?”
Her mouth tightened. “When he’s sober, he remembers he has a son.”
“That’s why Noah was hungry?”
“I’ve been stretching groceries until payday. His father was supposed to send money last week.”
I had three kids to feed.
I looked toward the stairs.
