Page 18 of Coming Home for Fall 2
“I guess what I mean is that you love Dot and you’ve always put her first,” Mallory tried again. “And that seems to be the most important part of being a parent. Another family might’ve taken really good care of her as well, but there are just no guarantees in this life, so you have to make choices and stick to your guns and be the best you can be.”
She looked up at Sasha, who was now fully crying.
Oh no. I said the wrong thing, didn’t I?
Sasha sniffled and Mallory got ready to launch into an apology, but it wasn’t actually necessary. “I really appreciate you saying that. It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that I’m doing everything wrong. I see these other mothers in town with their nice strollers and organic diapers, and it’s hard not to compare myself.”
“If my dad were here, he would say that comparisons will ruin your life, and he’s generally right about that kind of thing. And you know, just because things aren’t perfect in your life right now, that doesn’t mean you’re not moving in the right direction. You’re in a stable living situation now, and I thought I overheard you talking to my mom about updating your resume?”
Sasha’s smile faded a bit. “Yeah, or at least I’m trying to. I don’t think it will matter what I do, it’s just not a very impressive resume. I worked at a Wendy’s in high school, but that’s my only job experience and I was only there for a couple monthsduring the summer. Your mom’s friend said I could work at her bookstore during the holidays, but I feel a little weird taking a job I didn’t necessarily earn. Does that make sense?”
“Wait—” Mallory frowned. “Are you talking about Kate? The woman who owns the bookstore in town?”
“Yup.”
“Oh wow. Kate offered you a job? Just like that?”
“Well, not really. She told your mom that she needed an extra pair of hands,” she explained. “And I guess your mom said that I was looking for work? I don’t know exactly how the conversation went.” She rubbed her face and groaned. “But maybe I’m being ridiculous. I should probably just take the job and be grateful that someone else wants to help me. I just—I wish I had gotten the job on my own merits.”
“I understand.” Mallory looked down at the top of Dot’s head, hoping Sasha wouldn’t notice the difficulty she was having talking about this. “I would likely feel a similar way, but I also don’t think you have anything to worry about. Kate wouldn’t offer up a job unless she really needed the help.”
“That’s good to know… I’ll think about it.”
Mallory nodded but left it at that. Her mind had already jumped on a new train, barreling towards a bunch of questions she didn’t want to have to ask herself. Why was her mom so quick to find Sasha a job, when she was always hesitant to pull strings with her friends when it was Mallory looking for work? And how was Sasha able to start putting her life together so quickly?
Suspicion, mixed with a healthy dose of jealousy, swam up in Mallory’s throat and forced the next sentence from her lips. “So, just out of curiosity, do you have any information about the women’s shelter you were staying in before you came to live here?”
Sasha frowned. “Umm, I can’t remember off the top of my head, sorry.”
“Can you at least tell me where the shelter is located?” Mallory pushed. “I bet I could find the information I’m looking for if you just gave me the name of the town or neighborhood it’s in.”
“A lot of the towns in this area have similar names,” she said. “But I think it was maybe in Glendale, or maybe it was Crescent something? Do either of those ring a bell?”
“There’s a Glendale inSouthernCalifornia, is that where you were?”
“No, no. I was up North.” She smiled and got up off the couch. “I’m sorry, I just can’t remember right now but I’ll look it up and tell you the name of the place once I find it.” She approached the chair with hands out. “I need to change Dot, can I have her?”
Mallory gave Sasha her baby, knowing that the second she had Dot in her arms, she would dash out of the room and go back to avoiding having any one-on-one conversations with the youngest Ward child. “Right, of course,” she said during the hand-off. “But I have to say, I’m a little surprised that you don’t know the name or even the town. Are you sure there’s not another reason you might want to keep this information from me?”
Sasha stared down at Mallory for a few seconds before walking away with the baby. “You think I’ve got secrets, don’t you?”
Mallory, who wasn’t expecting the young woman to be so direct with her, laughed awkwardly. “Uh, now that you mention it, yeah I do.”
“That makes sense. I haven’t necessarily given you much of a reason to trust me.” She smiled coldly and switched Dot over to her other hip. “But maybe before you go around throwing rocksin this glass house, you take a closer look at the people youdotrust.”
“What?” Mallory was too confused to be offended. She had no idea what to make of this. “What are you talking about?”
Sasha shrugged. “I just think you might be looking for dirt in the wrong places. Has it ever occurred to you that it might beyour parentswho are keeping secrets?”
Mallory was stunned speechless, not that Sasha waited around to hear her response anyway. After dropping that bomb, she kissed her baby on top of her head and walked out of the room with the ease of someone who hadn’t just turned Mallory’s entire world upside down.
Chapter 8
Her parents weren’t liars.
Mallory was sure of it.
Aside from the few white lies that all parents told their children, like those surrounding the tooth fairy or the fact that Mallory couldn’t get a horse because apparently ‘horses didn’t like to live near the beach’, she was almost certain her parents had never been dishonest with her. That just wasn’t their style. What would they have to hide from her anyway?
