Page 184 of Ice Darling
“You have therapy today, pumpkin.”
“But I don’twantto go there. I want to see Delia.”
My heart stumbles over itself.Honestly, I do too.
“Soon,” I promise. “We’ll see her soon.”
Chapter Sixty-One
Renthrow
The fights I had with Dad over hockey are some of the memories I regret the most. I’d slam doors in his face, accuse him of being a nobody, and run away from home often.
In a nutshell, I made my parents’ lives very stressful.
After he got sick, I conceded and pursued a degree in Accounting while also playing for my college team.
Then he died.
And I got divorced.
Life slapped me in the face, and I was suddenly single and solely responsible for a human being who’d spent the last nine months in a protected womb.
When Gordie was a baby, I didn’t have time to play hockey, and I was grateful for that Accounting degree. It gave me a “normal job” with great benefits so that I could take care of her.
Eventually, I learned to like accounting.
Not all of it.
It can be mind-numbingly boring at times. And when the numbers aren’t adding up, it can make you want to tear your hair out. Still, accounting can feel like putting a puzzle together.The numbers are all unique shapes, painting a beautiful, orderly picture.
Gordie and I are back from the counselling center, and I’m in my home office, a notepad in front of me, a spreadsheet open on one monitor, and a search engine open on the next.
I’m ready to find the picture in the numbers.
Delia once told me that the truth about Gwen was online, but I honestly forgot about it. Or it’s more like I was never interested. There are only twenty-four hours in a day. With that little time, I prefer thinking of more ways to make my daughter’s life easier or improve my game.
But that’s changing now.
I type the words “Gwen Davenport” in the search engine.
Immediately, there are millions of hits.
Whoa.
Gwendolyn “Gwen” Davenport looks exactly like Cordelia. She has long hair, wears bright lipstick, and is lavishly dressed in evening gowns rather than leather jackets but…that’s Cordelia’s face.
I scroll and find even more pictures. Gwendolyn Davenport was not afraid of the spotlight. There are images of her in pageants, her being crowned at one of the biggest international pageants, her attending galas and conferences. There’s even one with her speaking at the UN.
The next layer of articles is about her death.
I click on one and scroll through. My finger slows on the mouse when I read the line ‘The reigning queen of the Miss Galaxy Pageant and daughter of the prominent Davenport family died in childbirth…’
Cordelia’s twin was pregnant?
My heart aches for Cordelia and for Sasha. They didn’t just lose a sister and daughter but also a grandchild and niece or nephew.
Does Gwen’s death have anything to do with why Cordelia is uncomfortable around children?
