Look Closely - Laura Caldwell [37]
“Of course,” Ty said, eating his salad, “and she’ll probably run for president after that.”
Ty and Bert both laughed, and I felt a wave of longing again for a family like this, the kind that knew each other so well.
“So, Hailey,” Bert said, offering me the basket of bread again. “Ty said you’re from Manhattan, is that right?”
I took a slice. “I’ve lived in New York for years now, but my family used to live here—a long time ago.”
“Oh!” Bert said. Apparently Ty hadn’t told her that much, and it confirmed my feelings that I could trust him. I had asked Ty not to let his parents know why I wanted to meet them. I hoped to bring the conversation around naturally and see what came up. Experience taught me that I often got more information from witnesses when they didn’t know what I was going to ask them.
“Would I have known your parents?” Bert asked.
“I’m not sure. Will and Leah Sutter?”
Bert made a thoughtful face. “Sure, I remember them. Your dad was the lawyer for this town for a number of years.”
“That’s right,” I said. “I’d forgotten that, because he doesn’t do municipal work anymore.”
“I remember everyone was so proud that we had a big Chicago lawyer representing us. And I remember your mom, too, honey.” Bert’s tone was lower now. “I didn’t know her well, but what I knew of her I liked, and I was so sorry to hear that she’d died.”
“Thank you,” I said, although it felt odd to accept condolences over a woman who’d passed away so long ago, a woman I had a hard time remembering.
“Did your father ever remarry?”
“Oh, no.” It was the same answer I always gave. Often I would go on, explaining that my father had been too in love with my mom to ever replace her, but this time I fell silent because of the separation. I had no idea whose decision that had been. Was it a mutual one because they had fallen out of love? Or had one of them done something to the other, something they couldn’t forgive?
There was a second of silence and then the sound of a car pulling into the garage. A minute later, the garage door leading into the kitchen opened.
“Hi, honey,” Bert called without even looking at the door. “How were the fish?”
Lou Manning stepped into the room, carrying a large duffel bag over his shoulder. Like Ty, he wasn’t a large man, but there was a presence about him. His brown-gray hair was thinning, and he had intense dark eyes. When he smiled at his wife, though, the solemn face broke.
“Hi, doll,” he said in a quiet voice. He nodded at his son, and said, “Ty.” Then his eyes turned to me. He gave another nod of his head.
“Dad, this is Hailey Sutter,” Ty said.
I crossed the room to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you, Chief.”
His face had returned to its serious cast, and he didn’t meet my hand. “Call me Lou. I’m filthy from fishing. I’ll just grab a shower.” He moved around me and into the next room, and soon we could hear him climbing the stairs.
I let my hand fall to my side and took my seat again.
“His bark is worse than his bite,” Ty said.
“That’s for sure,” Bert said. She picked up her glass. “You definitely won’t have any wine, Hailey?”
“Oh, no,” I said, and I could almost feel Ty’s smirk. “I had a little too much to drink last night.”
“Well then, you’ll need more bread,” Bert said. She put a few more pieces on my plate. “Soak it all up.”
Chief Manning returned ten minutes later with comb marks in his wet hair, dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans. He walked to his wife and kissed her on the top of her head.
“Did you bring us any fish?” Bert asked him.
He nodded. “It’s in the freezer in the garage.”
“Good. Then we’ll have a fish fry this week. Hailey, maybe you could come back for dinner again?” Bert got up from the table and began cutting the lasagna.
“I wish I could,” I said, “but I’m leaving tomorrow. I may be coming back to Chicago for business, but I’m not sure when.”
I looked at Ty’s face as I said this and saw him glance down at his plate. I couldn’t read his expression, but I hoped it was a little sadness over me