After Anna(66)
‘Oh boy.’ Kathy sighed heavily. ‘I’m sorry it went so badly.’
‘She was so hurt. And Noah called her a liar.’ Maggie shook her head as they walked along. ‘And I don’t know what to do about Jamie.’
‘Here’s my brilliant idea, and I truly think this is a great compromise for you. Let’s say that Anna is not lying to you.’
‘Do you think she is?’
‘Honey, I don’t know for sure, and it truly doesn’t matter. You guys don’t call anybody. No kid that age is going to let you call the school or call anybody’s parents, and I doubt that the school will give you the parents’ contact information anyway.’
‘You’re right.’
‘But there has to be a way that Anna can get a message to Jamie and Anna should ask Jamie to call her parents.’
‘That’s not a bad idea.’
‘And you know what else? You guys need to start having fun. It’s supposed to be a nice weekend. Why don’t you go down the shore?’
‘But it’s only April.’
‘Who cares?’ Kathy smiled, chugging along the path. ‘You need a change of scenery. You’re in that house fussing all the time. You need to go somewhere different, where your roles aren’t set.’
‘I love it!’ Maggie felt her heart lift. She pictured Anna and Caleb playing on the beach.
‘And you know what else? I think you should throw a party for Anna. Something easy, like a barbecue. She moved in, and so far, it’s been a source of conflict. Why not flip that? Celebrate! Your daughter is back in your life!’
‘But nobody even knows I have a daughter.’ Maggie felt a wave of shame that she knew well, like an old friend, or an old enemy.
‘So it’s time to tell them, don’t you think?’ Kathy looked over, her expression frank. ‘That’s ancient history, and you didn’t do anything wrong. I think you should introduce Anna to everybody.’
‘So, in other words, I’m coming clean?’ Maggie thought of their friends, parents in Caleb’s class, and Noah’s partners and their wives.
‘Yes, why not?’ Kathy patted her back. ‘Everybody loves you, Maggie. Nobody’s going to think about the past, we’re just going to be happy that she’s here.’
‘I guess you’re right,’ Maggie said, as they walked the final stretch around the field. ‘I like the statement it makes to Anna. That we’re happy that she’s in our family and we want her to meet our friends, like you.’
‘Exactly! I can’t wait to see her!’ Kathy grinned, then stopped walking. ‘Wait. Did you tell her that I searched the textbooks, too?’
‘No.’
‘I owe you one,’ Kathy shot back, laughing.
Chapter Forty-five
Noah, After
TRIAL, DAY 5
‘Dr Alderman, you discussed the incident that had taken place in the bathroom with your wife, didn’t you?’
‘There was no incident, it didn’t happen.’
Linda blinked. ‘Did Anna inform your wife of the alleged incident in your presence?’
Noah cringed inwardly, remembering the awful scene. Not many people know exactly the moment their marriage ended, but he did. ‘My wife was upstairs with Caleb, and Anna and I had been in the bathroom –’
‘Please answer the question. Did Anna inform your wife of the alleged incident in your presence or outside of it?’
‘I was there. It was in my presence.’
‘Where did the conversation take place?’
‘In the hallway outside the powder room. Anna left the bathroom and as soon as she got into the hallway, she started crying. My wife had just come downstairs and saw Anna there, crying.’
Linda snorted. ‘Are you saying that Anna left the bathroom and burst into tears, all of a sudden?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’re saying Anna faked spontaneous tears?’
‘Yes.’
‘Anna didn’t have acting lessons before she came to live with you, did she?’
‘Not that I know of.’ Noah heard the jury shifting in their seats.
‘Dr Alderman, please direct your attention to Commonwealth Exhibit 52.’ Linda signaled her paralegal, and another portion of the transcript came onto the screen. The gallery craned their necks, and Noah read about the worst night of his life:
Mr Carter: Anna, tell us what happened after you left the bathroom.
Ms Desroches: I just started crying, and then my mom came down the stairs. I ran to her and she hugged me and I said, ‘Noah won’t leave me alone and he grabbed me and kissed me and said this horrible thing to me, and you have to help me because this has to stop.’
Mr Carter: What did she say or do?
Ms Desroches: She looked totally shocked and she went white in the face. I thought she was going to faint. She was just, like, stunned. I felt so bad for her because I knew she didn’t suspect anything and I never told her about what he did on the driving lesson.
Mr Carter: What did she say or do?
Ms Desroches: My mother looked at Noah and she said, ‘Noah, is this true?’ And he said I was lying, making the whole thing up. Then she asked him if he had been drinking and he said yes but he wasn’t drunk or anything. And she was really shocked and upset, but she was trying not to cry and she said, ‘Anna, go upstairs, I want to talk to Noah.’