see her father walking down the steps, grin on his face, asking her if she wanted to go hiking up at Lizard’s Mouth, or paddleboarding at Goleta Beach, or kayaking at Leadbetter. It didn’t seem possible that he would never again do any of those things.
After her final walk-through with the Realtor, she handed over the keys. “I’d like to just sit on the steps for a few minutes before I go.”
Marian nodded. “Take all the time you need.” She squeezed Kelli’s arm, then hurried to her car as if afraid somehow the grief was contagious.
Kelli buried her face in her hands. This place had been her whole world for all of her growing-up years. Happy times and not so happy times, just like any other family. Only in this case there seemed to be one thing that most families didn’t have—it was all built on a lie. There had to be some sort of logical explanation for all that had happened, and Kelli intended to find out what it was.
“Sorry to see you go, neighbor.” Kelli looked up to see Julie Layton coming up the driveway toward her. Julie lived in Colorado but flew out to visit her mother on a regular basis. “I saw you over here and wanted to come tell you good-bye, and to tell you how sorry I am. About everything.” At fifty-something, Julie easily looked ten years younger, even with the no-makeup, slightly unkempt look she’d always favored.
Kelli remained seated on the steps but nodded her appreciation. “Thank you. It’s been rough around here lately.”
“For all of us.” Julie dropped down beside her, extending her tan legs in front of her so that her Birkenstocks rested on the edge of the lawn.
Kelli liked Julie, so she bit back her sarcastic response—herweek wouldn’t have been nearly so rough if she hadn’t gotten fired for trying to help Julie’s mother. But Julie hadn’t been the one to make the call, and either way, it was done now, no reason to burn bridges.
There had been Dalton Construction trucks parked at Mrs. Layton’s all week without even a pause. Kelli wasn’t sure how that translated into a tough time “for all of them,” as it seemed more than apparent things were fine for the Laytons.
“How is your mom?” Kelli asked. Mrs. Layton had seemed to believe Kelli when she confided about the overbilling. Had she approved of, or even known about, Kevin’s phone call that ended Kelli’s job?
“She’s devastated.”
“Devastated?” Kelli glanced down the street toward her house. “Please tell her not to worry on my account. We’ve got the restaurant opening in the fall, and I’m sure I’ll be able to find another job to tide me over in the meantime.”
“You lost your job over this?” Julie’s voice held true surprise.
“Yes. Jimmy fired me as soon as I walked in the door on Monday morning.”
“Because Kevin called him about Mom?”
“Yes.” Kelli looked toward Julie, truly confused. “I assumed you knew that.”
“No. And please do me a favor and don’t tell Mom. I think that would put her over the edge. She’s so upset already.”
“What is she so upset about, then? Because Kevin didn’t believe it when I told him about the dishonesty?”
Julie inhaled, cranked her face up toward the sky as if to drink in the sunlight, then slowly exhaled and lowered her head. “Mom’s moving to San Francisco.”
“Why?”
“Kevin called an emergency teleconference of all us siblingson Sunday evening. Due to all that has transpired, he declared it too much of a burden to watch over Mom from afar. Since he is the one who handles all her financial affairs, and is the closest geographically, he is the one who has to drive down when there are health issues and whatnot. He found an assisted living facility close to his home and has made arrangements for her to live there starting next week. So tomorrow, instead of having a nice Mother’s Day brunch as usual, we’re packing up Mom’s things and getting her ready to move out.”
Tomorrow was Mother’s
After her final walk-through with the Realtor, she handed over the keys. “I’d like to just sit on the steps for a few minutes before I go.”
Marian nodded. “Take all the time you need.” She squeezed Kelli’s arm, then hurried to her car as if afraid somehow the grief was contagious.
Kelli buried her face in her hands. This place had been her whole world for all of her growing-up years. Happy times and not so happy times, just like any other family. Only in this case there seemed to be one thing that most families didn’t have—it was all built on a lie. There had to be some sort of logical explanation for all that had happened, and Kelli intended to find out what it was.
“Sorry to see you go, neighbor.” Kelli looked up to see Julie Layton coming up the driveway toward her. Julie lived in Colorado but flew out to visit her mother on a regular basis. “I saw you over here and wanted to come tell you good-bye, and to tell you how sorry I am. About everything.” At fifty-something, Julie easily looked ten years younger, even with the no-makeup, slightly unkempt look she’d always favored.
Kelli remained seated on the steps but nodded her appreciation. “Thank you. It’s been rough around here lately.”
“For all of us.” Julie dropped down beside her, extending her tan legs in front of her so that her Birkenstocks rested on the edge of the lawn.
Kelli liked Julie, so she bit back her sarcastic response—herweek wouldn’t have been nearly so rough if she hadn’t gotten fired for trying to help Julie’s mother. But Julie hadn’t been the one to make the call, and either way, it was done now, no reason to burn bridges.
There had been Dalton Construction trucks parked at Mrs. Layton’s all week without even a pause. Kelli wasn’t sure how that translated into a tough time “for all of them,” as it seemed more than apparent things were fine for the Laytons.
“How is your mom?” Kelli asked. Mrs. Layton had seemed to believe Kelli when she confided about the overbilling. Had she approved of, or even known about, Kevin’s phone call that ended Kelli’s job?
“She’s devastated.”
“Devastated?” Kelli glanced down the street toward her house. “Please tell her not to worry on my account. We’ve got the restaurant opening in the fall, and I’m sure I’ll be able to find another job to tide me over in the meantime.”
“You lost your job over this?” Julie’s voice held true surprise.
“Yes. Jimmy fired me as soon as I walked in the door on Monday morning.”
“Because Kevin called him about Mom?”
“Yes.” Kelli looked toward Julie, truly confused. “I assumed you knew that.”
“No. And please do me a favor and don’t tell Mom. I think that would put her over the edge. She’s so upset already.”
“What is she so upset about, then? Because Kevin didn’t believe it when I told him about the dishonesty?”
Julie inhaled, cranked her face up toward the sky as if to drink in the sunlight, then slowly exhaled and lowered her head. “Mom’s moving to San Francisco.”
“Why?”
“Kevin called an emergency teleconference of all us siblingson Sunday evening. Due to all that has transpired, he declared it too much of a burden to watch over Mom from afar. Since he is the one who handles all her financial affairs, and is the closest geographically, he is the one who has to drive down when there are health issues and whatnot. He found an assisted living facility close to his home and has made arrangements for her to live there starting next week. So tomorrow, instead of having a nice Mother’s Day brunch as usual, we’re packing up Mom’s things and getting her ready to move out.”
Tomorrow was Mother’s
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