Authors: Sandi Perry
She
waved
her
goodbye
as
she
watched
her
mother
back
out
of
the
garage.
It
had
been
a
good
idea
to
follow
her
impulse
and
come
up
for
the
weekend.
It
gnawed
at
her
that
she
hadn't
checked
in
on
her
mother
more
often.
Insisting
she
get
a
place
in
the
city
was
the
next
item
on
her
list,
right
below
catching
a
murderer
and
manning
the
company.
Her
mother
was
vibrant,
beautiful,
and
very
young
looking
and
Allison
didn't
like
the
idea
of
how
isolated
the
suburbs
got
during
the
winter
months.
Soon
she
would
apply
pressure
on
her
to
move
to
the
city.
In
the
meantime,
she
walked
upstairs
with
her
small
weekend
bag,
pausing
as
she
passed
the
bathroom.
She
flashed
back
to
herself
as
a
child
and
saw
her
father
leaning
over
the
tub,
washing
her
hair.
"Why
are
you
giving
me
a
bath?
Mommy
always
does
it."
"Mommy
had
to
go
and
spend
a
couple
of
days
at
Nana's."
"
Why?"
"'Y'
is
a
crooked
letter.
Here,
lean
your
head
back
so
I
can
rinse
out
the
shampoo...good
girl,"
he
said
as
he
lathered
up
again.
"You're
only
supposed
to
do
it
once!"
"What?
Really?
Because
it
says
right
here,"
he
reached
for
the
shampoo
bottle
that
smelled
of
strawberries,
"Rinse.
Lather.
Repeat.
You
can
read,
right?"
"Of
course!
Daddy,
you're
funny."
Allison
was
brought
back
to
the
present
by
the
ringing
of
the
front
doorbell.
As
she
went
down
to
answer
it,
she
remembered
how
safe
her
parents
had
always
made
her
feel.
It
was
many
years
later
that
she
found
out
her
father's
unusual
presence
at
bath
time
was
due
to
a
miscarriage
her
mother
had
suffered
when
she'd
been
four
months
pregnant.
Allison
regretted
her
mother
couldn't
have
any
children
after
that—she
would
have
welcomed
a
little
sibling
that
she
could've
bossed
around.
By
the
time
she
reached
the
foyer,
Jeremy
was
unlocking
the
door.
"Why'd
you
ring
if
you
had
the
key?"
Allison
asked.
"Because
if
I'd
come
sneaking
up
behind
you,
you
would
have
jumped
a
country
mile,"
he
said.
Allison
smiled
and
gave
his
arm
a
light
punch.
"I'm
impressed
that
you
didn't
seize
the
opportunity
to
give
me
my
first
gray
hairs."
"Hey,
it's
just
the
two
of
us...and
Mom.
We
have
to
band
together,"
Jeremy
said
quietly.
"Yeah,
how
have
you
been
doing
with
all
of
this?"
she
asked.
"Some
days
I
wake
up
and
reach
for
the
phone
to
call
Dad,
and
then
I
have
to
put
down
the
receiver
when
I
remember
he
isn't
there...here.
Anymore,"
he
said.
Allison
closed
her
eyes,
"I
mostly
let
it
bubble
on
the
back
burner
of
my
mind
while
I
try
to
keep
the
business
intact.
But,
a
couple
of
days
ago
I
was
at
the
grocery
store
and
this
adorable
couple
in
their
seventies
was
on
line
in
front
of
me.
They
were
immaculately
dressed
and
speaking
about
their
grandchildren—I
almost
fell
to
my
knees
when
I
realized
Mom
and
Dad
are
not
going
to
have
that
to
share."
Allison
gathered
her
arms
across
her
chest
and
rubbed
her
hands
on
her
cashmere
sweater.
The
simple
act
helped
her
regain
her
control,
and
she
turned
to
look
at
Jeremy,
grateful
he
had
given
her
a
few
moments
to
collect
herself.
"I
really
appreciate
that
you
rearranged
your
schedule
to
come
up
and
have
dinner
with
me
as
I
try
to
interview
Paul
Franklin
for
the
CEO
position."
"I'm
glad
you
thought
to
ask;
this
is
a
lot
for
you
to
shoulder
on
your
own.
I'm
sorry
I
can't
be
more
helpful,
but
if
he
keels
over
during
dinner,
I'm
your
man,"
Jeremy
said.
"It's
almost
seven,
let's
get
going.
Hopefully
the
car's
still
warm,
it's
freezing
up
here!"
****
Two
hours
later
Jeremy
and
Allison
were
driving
back
toward
the
house,
each
lost
in
their
own
thoughts.
Finally,
Jeremy
spoke
up,
"There
was
one
point
there
where
I
had
a
really
good
power
nap.
The
only
thing
is
he
was
still
talking
about
clogged
fuel
injectors
when
I
woke
up
fifteen
minutes
later."