Page 54 of The Keeper

Understanding dawned on her face. “Of course.” She rose to her feet and headed for the exit. Good luck, she mouthed on her way past.

I nodded in acknowledgment. I appreciated her discretion, even if part of me wished she could stay. I could use the moral support, but this was something I had to do on my own. It was a family matter. It wouldn’t be fair for me to drag her into it.

“Is everything okay?” Evie sounded worried as we sat down at the table.

“Yes. Everything is fine, but I have some news. Good news, actually.” It was best if I framed this situation as a positive development and not one that’d sent me spiraling for the past forty-eight hours.

I filled her in on her maternal grandparents’ arrival and their desire to meet her. I kept the details of their estrangement from Sarah vague, and I didn’t mention their request for shared custody. I didn’t want to overwhelm Evie with too much, too fast.

She didn’t interrupt me once while I was talking. I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking, but she wasn’t crying or screaming. That was a good sign, right?

We didn’t talk about her mother often. She’d been a baby when Sarah died, and she didn’t remember her at all. I’d tried to keep Sarah’s memory alive with photos and stories when Evie was younger, but she always became withdrawn when I brought up her mother. I’d consulted with several child psychologists who said that was normal, and I shouldn’t force her to talk about it if she didn’t want to. They’d suggested letting her express her emotions through play and other creative outlets, which I’d done.

However, that meant I had no idea how Evie would react to the Anderson news. When I finished, I waited anxiously for her questions, but she merely said, “Okay.”

I paused, expecting more. I didn’t get it. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” She grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting a picture of a dress out from one of the magazines. “I’ll meet them. It’s cool that I have long-lost relatives. But don’t invite them to my recital, okay? I only want you and Carina there.”

“I won’t.” I tucked my concern behind a light tone. “Do you have any questions about them? Or anything else you want to discuss? Maybe you have some ideas about where you want to meet. I was thinking dinner, but I’m open to suggestions.”

“It doesn’t matter as long as it’s not my recital.”

“Got it.” I knew the news had affected her because Evie wasn’t her usual bubbly self, but I couldn’t push her. She’d open up when she was ready. “Well, if you think of anything you want to talk about before Sunday—or after Sunday—you just let me know. There’s no time limit. You can talk to me about anything at any time.”

“Okay.” She set her scrapbook materials down and scrambled to her feet. “I’m going to practice piano by myself for a bit. Can you let Carina know I’ll clean this up after?”

“Sure.”

I watched her disappear into the hall, unease slinking through my veins.

That hadn’t gone the way I’d expected. At all.

CHAPTER 22

CARINA

“Yes, Dad, of course I’m coming home for the Mid-Autumn Festival. I always do,” I said. I cradled my phone between my ear and shoulder while I opened an email in the RAB inbox. “But that’s not until September. It’s too early to book train tickets.”

“Yes, yes, I know.” I could practically see my dad sitting behind the counter at his restaurant, his brow scrunched as he waved an impatient hand at my reminder. “But your aunts will be visiting from Vietnam that week, and I want to make sure we have the right head count. You know how your mother is about logistics.”

“I know. I promise I’ll send you details as soon as I have them, okay?” I heard the jangle of bells in the background, indicating a customer had walked in.

I experienced a sliver of relief. Customers were always good. My dad’s business had picked up a bit after a long lull, but the finances were still tricky. My parents’ house repairs had taken longer than expected, and they hadn’t been able to move back home until last week. Their unexpected expenses had quickly piled up over the past month, and it was a good thing I’d sent them my Antarctica money or things would be even more dire.

Still, it was good they were already bugging me about coming home. It was a sign things were returning to normal.

“Okay. Don’t forget,” my dad said.

“I won’t. I’ll talk to you later. Say hi to Mum for me.”

I hung up and quickly responded to the RAB email. It was the last unread one of the day (so far), and I was making a quick calendar note to buy train tickets home closer to September when Noah came downstairs, his signature frown intact.

I hit save and straightened, my spidey senses tingling. “How did it go? Did Evie take it well?”

He was the one who had to break the news to her, but I hadn’t stopped thinking about their impending conversation since the Andersons showed up two nights ago. I hoped she wasn’t too upset or, conversely, too excited. Both ends of the spectrum had the potential to go very wrong, depending on how the Andersons handled the situation.

“Yeah. A little too well.” Noah shook his head. “She had no reaction other than ‘okay.’”