Chapter 12 - An Unexpected Visitor
Back on Elm Street, Tuesday afternoon felt remarkably quiet.
Lily was at school, and I was sitting at the kitchen table reviewing a stack of remote consulting assignments for a regional retail chain when a soft knock sounded at the front door.
I checked the peephole, half-expecting a process server or a desperate reporter.
Instead, standing on our welcome mat with her head bowed and her hands clutched tightly around her handbag, was my mother.
She looked entirely defeated. The haughty, perfectly manicured matriarch of Newport society was gone, replaced by a tired, frightened woman wearing a plain beige trench coat.
I unlocked the door and pulled it open just enough to look at her.
“Mom,” I said, my voice neutral. “What are you doing here? Harrison’s injunction applies to the family residence too, you know.”
“I didn't come to argue, Claire,” Mom whispered, her voice cracking. She looked up, and I saw actual tears welling in her eyes. “Can I... can I please come in for just five minutes?”
I stared at her for a long moment, weighing the risks, before stepping back and swinging the door open. “Make it quick. Lily will be home from school soon.”
Mom stepped into the small, warm kitchen. She didn’t sit down in the laminate chairs; she stood near the counter, looking around the modest room with a strange, lingering expression.
“Your father is... he’s talking about liquidating the estate,” she murmured, staring at the chipped paint near the radiator. “And Vanessa won't come out of her room. She keeps saying everyone in Boston hates her.”
“They don't hate her, Mom. They just don't care about her anymore,” I said quietly, pouring myself a glass of water. “Greed has a way of clearing out fair-weather friends.”
Mom swallowed hard, her lower lip trembling. She looked directly at me, and for the first time in my life, I saw her drop her armor completely.
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“When Vanessa laughed at you at Easter... and when we made those terrible jokes at the wedding... I thought we were protecting our status,” she choked out, a tear spilling down her cheek. “I didn't know you were the only one in the family who actually saw the cliff we were walking toward. Can you... is there anything you can do to help us?”
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