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that reason, I will send you some money.
Dad, what happened with you and Angela?
It sounds like Angela has her own plan on how to tell you about us. Go ahead and
hang around to hear the letters.
Oh Dad, the last letter said I wasn t supposed to talk to you about this. Her stomach
tightened at the confession. Maybe she was just a bad seed, incapable of being good.
Now I see what she was up to. Well go along with it, and we ll see what you think
when it s all said and done. In the mean time, stay away from men that you have no business
being around.
The good ones don t want anything to do with me.
The right man will come along, sweetheart.
Kathryn blew kisses through the phone and hung up. She reached for a tissue to wipe
off her cheek, and about had a heart attack at the large shadowed figure, looming in the open
doorway of the motel room.
Dear God, you scared me to death. She put her heart to her chest to steady her
breathing, and let her eyes focus on Andy. How long have you been standing there?
A simple request from a dead woman, and you couldn t honor it, he growled, not
moving from his luminous position in the doorway.
The brightness of the day behind him made it harder for her to focus on him.
I needed money, she whimpered. I didn t mean to tell him anything. He just kept
asking questions. I don t know why it s such a big deal. My father is a good man.
It s a big deal because Angela Newton requested it.
33
The Prodigal Daughter
Oh, I see. This is what it s all about right here. The woman you loved got killed, and
you need to hate someone for it. Well fine& She would have berated him further, although
she had no idea why she was saying what she was.
Maybe it was because she couldn t stand the despicable way he glared at her. Maybe
she was hurt that her father had found out what she had done. Maybe she was simply so
humiliated, she didn t care anymore. Whatever the reason, she d said too much.
Andy lunged into the room, and grabbed her by her arms. He lifted her off the ground,
and shook her. Her teeth chattered together, but shock slowed her defenses. You have no
idea what you re talking about. Angela was a good person. If she asked something of
someone, they went out of their way to do it. She didn t deserve to die, but I sure as hell am
glad she isn t around to see that she has a daughter as selfish and rotten to the core as you
are.
He dropped her, and stormed out of the room. Kathryn could do nothing else but
crumble to the floor and cry.
*****
She didn t see Andy the next day. Kathryn and Kari spent it together at the house.
They went through the photo albums again, but saw no picture that indicated they were twins,
or that they had once been together. They scrubbed the house from top to bottom, and made
soup together. Right before it got dark, they took a walk, and Kari showed Kathryn parts of
the land.
It was time well spent. Giving them an opportunity to get to know each other and both
commented they were glad to have the time.
I can t imagine growing up on this land, and never leaving it. Kathryn took a deep
breath of fresh air. Even the air smelled better than any air she d ever smelled before more
than likely because there wasn t a big city full of car exhaust and factories within a hundred
miles. If I d grown up here, I probably would have flown the coop at the first chance I could
find.
Kari laughed. You re probably right. Some of my friends left right after high school. I
went to Little Rock for college, but I always came home on weekends and sometimes as soon
as class was out for the day. It was easier to study at home.
And then when you graduated, you moved back here? Kathryn waved her flashlight
back and forth across the gravel road in front of her. What is your degree?
Education. I came home and thought I could teach. Teachers here don t go anywhere
though. I work in the library at the grade school during the school year.
Then you ll be going back to work soon?
Yeah, in a couple of weeks.
They reached the house, and Kari walked inside first. What about you? Did you go to
college?
Oh, definitely. All O Briens go to college. She decided not to mention she went to
Harvard. It didn t matter when it was all said and done.
So, what s your degree in?
Theology.
Lorie O Clare 34
Really? You mean religion?
Yeah. Others have found it amusing too. Go ahead and laugh. I ve always been
fascinated by how religion affects culture. I ve got a minor in Cultural Anthropology.
I can just see you sitting, having tea, lost in some deep conversation about faith. Kari
sighed. It sounds like you ve led quite the glamorous life.
Glamorous is about the last word I d use to describe my life. Far from it.
I ve noticed you don t seem to be in a hurry to go home. Kari watched Kathryn
cautiously, not wanting to offend her. I mean& you haven t called anyone or anything. Is
there anyone waiting for you?
Kathryn thought about the people she d worked with. Were they her friends? She
went out for drinks after work with them on a regular basis. But all they talked about were
work related topics& or men. When she thought about it, she knew nothing personal about
any of her co-workers. Why had that never bothered her before?
Kathryn let the air seep slowly out of her lungs. No. I don t really have any reason to
go back to Detroit. But, I did call my dad.
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