The Bad Daughter(88)

“You never liked me very much,” Robin said.

“Yeah, well, it’s hard to like your sister when she’s your mother’s clear favorite.”

“I wasn’t her—” Robin started to protest.

“Sure you were. I knew it from the minute she brought you home from the hospital, and that was years before I heard her tell you so.”

“You heard her…?”

“Tell you that you were her favorite? Oh, yes. The memory is seared into my brain. There you were, all nice and cozy, curled up on her lap on the sofa, and there I was, watching from the shadows.” She shrugged again, as if to say it didn’t matter. Her eyes said something else.

“I’m sorry,” Robin said again.

“You certainly didn’t look sorry at the time. You looked about as pleased as a little girl could be.”

Robin acknowledged the truth with a nod of her head and a long exhalation. It was several seconds before she spoke. “I knew you were there.”

Melanie made a face halfway between a smile and a scowl. “I thought you did. I bet it made the moment that much sweeter.”

“It did,” Robin admitted. She looked across the rows of gravestones. “I was, what, ten? I’d spent my whole life trying to get my big sister’s approval. All I ever got was a cold shoulder and a broken nose.”

Melanie chuckled. “And even that worked in your favor. Gave your face some much-needed character.”

Both sisters stared absently at the horizon.

“Did you ever confront Mom?” Robin asked.

“I thought about it once,” Melanie said, “when she was making the usual round of excuses for you not coming home. But she was pretty sick by then, and what was I supposed to tell her without sounding like the jealous brat I was?”

Robin stared down at her mother’s grave. “You could tell her now.”

Melanie’s eyes narrowed, a sneer tugging at her lips. “What are you—my therapist now?”

“I’m your sister,” Robin said. “Go on. Tell her.”

Melanie scoffed. “You think she’s listening?”

“I don’t think it matters.”

There was a long pause. “Sure. Why not? I’ll play along. Here goes nothing.” She took a deep breath. “Not sure what I’m supposed to say, but…” Another pause, this one so long that Robin thought she’d decided not to continue. “Okay. Here’s the thing, Mom. You shouldn’t have played favorites. It wasn’t fair. I know I wasn’t an easy child to mother. But I was your child. And I loved you. And you hurt my feelings. Yes, surprise! I actually have them.” She turned back to Robin, her cheeks flushing pink with embarrassment. “Okay, that’s it. Happy now?”

Robin inched forward, her shoes sinking into the soft ground around her mother’s grave, rooting her in place. “Do you think she knew about Dad’s affairs?” she surprised herself by asking.

“Are you kidding me? Of course she did,” Melanie said. “You think the whole town knew and she didn’t?”

“All those years I thought I was protecting her,” Robin said. “All those years I felt so guilty for keeping his secret. And she knew all along.”

“What did she know?” a small voice asked from behind them.

The sisters turned to see Cassidy and Blake watching from a few feet away.

“Sorry,” Blake said. “Didn’t mean to sneak up on you. We were starting to get worried.”

“That’s okay,” Melanie said, walking toward them. “We’re done here.”



* * *



—

A few minutes later, they turned onto Larie Lane. Robin spotted a black Honda Civic parked behind Melanie’s car in the driveway. “Whose car is that?”

Cassidy stretched forward in her seat. “Looks like Kenny’s.”

“Who’s Kenny?” Blake asked.

“The boy who visited Cassidy in the hospital,” Robin reminded him.

“Landon’s friend,” Cassidy clarified.

Blake parked his car, leaving enough room for Kenny to get his car out, then ran around to help Cassidy out of the backseat. She collapsed against his side. “Whoa,” Blake said. “You okay?”

“A little dizzy,” Cassidy said.

Blake scooped her into his arms. “Let me carry you inside.”

“No. I can walk.”

“No arguments,” said Robin, walking beside them as Melanie hurried ahead to unlock the front door.

“Landon,” she called out as they entered the house, “we’re home.”

There was no answer.

“I’ll see what we have for lunch.” Melanie headed for the kitchen as Blake carried Cassidy into the living room and deposited her on the sofa.

His cell phone rang and he reached into his pocket, glancing at the caller ID. “Sorry. It’s the office. I’ve got to take this.” He walked into the hallway.

Cassidy’s eyes brimmed over with sudden tears. “What’s going to happen to me if Daddy doesn’t get better?” she asked Robin.

“Please stop worrying about that. We’ll figure something out.”

“What?”