Enough to make me wonder.
“Traitor.”
Then I remembered the camera by the front door.
That morning, my purse had been sitting directly in its view.
We went back to the morning of the crash.
Walter leaned closer. “Oh, there she comes.”
Traitor.
“Shh.”
He leaned closer. “She’s opening your purse.”
“I see it.”
“Granny… that’s your glasses case.”
We watched Lisa slip it into her handbag.
My stomach turned.
She’s opening your purse.
For years, I’d confused refusing to see the worst in Lisa with loving her.
I couldn’t anymore.
Walter whispered, “Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because she wants me?”
I’d confused refusing to see the worst in Lisa with loving her.
I looked at him. “She’s wanted you for four years.”
“Why?”
That was the question.
Before confronting Lisa, I went through Daniel’s papers.
Insurance.
Taxes.
Medical bills.
Then I found what I was looking for.
Why would she do that?
I read the first page three times.
“Granny?”
I turned the papers facedown.
“You okay?”
“I think I just figured something out.”
I found what I was looking for.
“About Aunt Lisa?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Something I should’ve seen years ago.”
“What is that?”
“I’ll explain when you’re older.”
I just figured something out.
He narrowed his eyes. “That’s exactly what Aunt Lisa says when she doesn’t want to answer me.”
“Please don’t compare me to your aunt today.”
After he left, four years of Lisa’s behavior suddenly made sense.
I’d been asking the wrong question all along.
Something about Lisa’s interest in Walter finally felt different. I needed to hear the rest from her.
Please don’t compare me to your aunt today.
So I called her. “Could you come over?”
She sounded surprised. “Are you okay?”
“I need help with some paperwork.”
“What paperwork?”
“For Walter.”
I’d been asking the wrong question all along.
“Of course. I’ll be there tonight.”
That reaction told me almost as much as the documents had.
And just like that, she’d made the next move for me.
