Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [71]
Liz hesitated. She stared at the photos as if she were afraid they would jump up and bite her. "I don't think I want to look at them."
"They won't go away just because you don't look."
"Don't push me," Liz snapped. "You're the one who's always whining about feeling rushed. Can't you see you're doing the same thing to me?"
"I'm sorry. You're right. I've had more time to think about this than you have. If it helps at all, Mrs. Davidson is really nice, and it was clear to me that she adored Mom."
"Then why did she disown her?"
"She said she didn't do that," Julia repeated. "She didn't even know about me. The last she knew was that Mom was single and alone. She didn't even believe Mom could have kids because of an ectopic pregnancy she'd suffered a few years before I was born."
"She must be lying. Or maybe this Mrs. Davidson was hiding something. She and her husband could have done something horrible to Mom when she was a child. Maybe she was abused or something…" Liz waved her hand wildly in the air as she tried to come up with reasons for the confusion.
"I honestly don't think Mom was abused by our grandparents," Julia replied. "Mrs. Davidson couldn't stop crying when she found out who I was. She couldn't understand why Sarah would have wanted her to think she was dead. She loved her so much."
"Then why would Mom have lied to us? If you don't think Mrs. Davidson is lying, then you think Mom did."
"I'm afraid I do," Julia admitted, even though it hurt to say the words. "Mom must have had her reasons. She told Gino the same story, that her parents had told her she was dead to them after she got pregnant with me. She never veered from that story."
"So there's something we're missing," Liz said. "I don't think we should take this woman's word over Mom's word. We don't know Mrs. Davidson at all."
"She'd like to know us. She'd like to come out and meet you-when you're ready," Julia amended quickly when Liz began to shake her head.
"That's not going to happen. I don't need another grandmother, especially one I don't trust. Mom didn't want us to know them. That's good enough for me. I don't even care about her reasons. She always wanted to protect us. Whatever she did had to be for that purpose."
Julia wished she could have such blind faith in their mother, but there were too many details blurring the picture of the mother she'd known. "There's more, Liz."
Liz put up her hand. "Please, stop. I don't want to hear more."
"Mom majored in Russian in college," Julia said, ignoring her plea. "Her grandmother, our great-grandmother, was a Russian immigrant. Apparently they spoke fluent Russian together." Liz didn't want to believe her. Julia could see the denial in her eyes. "Don't you think that means something?"
"I don't know what it means. You're driving me crazy. You have so many questions about everything. Why can't you just love the things you have, the people with you, instead of always wanting more? Why can't you be satisfied for once in your life?" She jumped to her feet. "I have to go to work."
"Don't run out, Liz. We need to talk about everything."
"No, we don't. Here's what I think. You do what you want, and leave me out of it."
Liz grabbed her keys and purse and strode from the room. Julia stared after her, wondering how they had gotten so off track with each other. During the past year they'd been closer than close, sharing the work it took to keep their mother comfortable and happy. Now they were as far apart as they had ever been.
Liz would say it was Julia's fault. Maybe it was. Maybe she did want too much.
But unlike Liz, she couldn't turn a blind eye to the lies that had been told. She'd spent her whole life stopping herself from asking the questions that mattered, afraid she would hurt her mother. But her mother was gone now, and it was time she got the truth-the whole truth.
Stan didn't seem surprised to see Alex