Chapter 61

I got out of the car and helped my mother from the passenger seat, as Philip and Paula gathered the luggage.

Arm in arm, my mother and I walked to the front door. She led us across a tile floor to the grand north-facing family room with its exquisite fireplace set against a stone wall. The air-conditioning was welcome in the oppressive heat.

My mother asked me if I’d like a cold drink.

Something stronger. “Ice water is fine,” I said.

“There’s homemade lemonade in the fridge,” she said, heading down the airy, sun-kissed hallway. “I got up early and made it this morning.”

I stopped and looked around the remains of my childhood home. Late-night board games with Mom and Dad, pay-per-view cable wrestling events, weekend camp outs in the living room.

Sentimental. A lump-in-the-throat response. I smiled at the memories of the happy old days.

I heard Mom rustling around in a room down the hall.