She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
“My whole life, I was never good enough for him. Never. I brought home a B, he asked about the A. I married Richard, he said Richard was a salesman with nice teeth. Paige and Lauren, he was polite to. Just polite. But you…” She shook her head. “He loved you. Instantly. Easily. Like you didn’t have to earn it. I had to earn every single thing I ever got from that man, and you got it for free. And I hated you for it. I’m your mother, and I hated you for it.”
I stood there on the sidewalk and felt like the ground was moving under my feet.
“So you put me in the attic,” I said.
“Yes.”
“And you took the letters.”
“Yes.”
“And you took my college money.”
She closed her eyes. “Richard said the foundation needed the cash flow. He said we’d pay it back. He said your grandfather would never know. And Lauren had all those loans, and she was crying all the time, and you… you were so capable. You always land on your feet. I told myself you’d be fine.”
