Chapter 7
Nobody in the room tried to pretend consequences could disappear because everyone now understood each other better.
Understanding was not erasure.
But it could be a beginning.
Rachel’s first priority was Ivy.
Andrew arranged for a car to bring Mrs. Elellanar and Ivy to St. Matthew’s.
When Rachel saw her daughter walking through the lobby, she stopped.
Ivy stopped too.
For one heartbeat they simply looked at each other.
Then Ivy ran.
Rachel knelt and wrapped both arms around her.
“Mommy.”
“I’m here.”
“You took too long.”
“I know.”
“I had to hire somebody.”
Rachel laughed and cried at the same time.
“So I heard.”
Ivy leaned back.
“He was expensive.”
Andrew, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow.
“You paid five dollars.”
“That was all my money.”
“Fair point.”
Rachel kissed Ivy’s forehead.
“I’m sorry you were scared.”
Ivy clung to her.
“Are we going home?”
“Yes.”
“Tonight?”
Rachel looked at Andrew.
He answered before she had to ask.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
Mrs. Elellanar approached Rachel next.
She hugged her fiercely.
Then held her shoulders.
“You call me next time.”
“I will.”
“You call before you decide to solve a nine-year mystery alone.”
“I will.”
“You are a nurse, not a detective.”
Rachel smiled tiredly.
“I noticed.”
Mrs. Elellanar pointed toward Ivy.
“This child ate crackers for dinner one night.”
“I made soup,” Ivy protested.
“From a packet.”
“It still had carrots.”
Mrs. Elellanar sighed.
Andrew leaned toward Rachel.
“She has strong opinions about nutrition.”
“You have no idea.”
For the first time in many days, laughter moved easily through the room.
Daniel watched from a chair by the window.
Ivy noticed him.
She approached slowly.
“Are you Daniel?”
He smiled.
“I am.”
“Your brother looked for you.”
“I know.”
“He was sad.”
Andrew cleared his throat.
“Ivy.”
“What? You were.”
Daniel’s smile deepened.
“He always was dramatic.”
“I am not dramatic.”
“You fired a landscaper over a pear tree.”
Margaret blinked.
“You did what?”
Andrew looked betrayed.
“You have known him again for less than one hour.”
Daniel laughed.
This time the sound filled the room.
May you like
Andrew stopped arguing.
He would have tolerated a hundred pear-tree stories to hear it.
