“Lay Ellie there.”
I wrapped my daughter in a clean throw blanket.
Mason sat beside her, his feet not touching the floor.
Dad shut the front door with more force than necessary.
“Now that the performance is over, we can discuss this privately.”
“There is nothing private about what you did,” Grandma said.
“Claire knocked on your door carrying two frightened children.
You refused them shelter because Vanessa might be inconvenienced.”
Mom crossed her arms.
“You weren’t here.
You don’t know how Claire behaves when she is upset.
Everything becomes a crisis.”
I stared at her.
My home had collapsed in flames less than five hours earlier, yet she still spoke as though the real emergency was my personality.
Grandma did not even look at me for confirmation.
“I saw the fire trucks,” she said.
“I spoke to the fire chief on my way here.
The back half of Claire’s house is gone.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed.
“Why were you speaking to the fire chief?”
“Because unlike you, I wanted to know whether my granddaughter and great-grandchildren were safe.”
A car turned into the driveway.
My mother glanced toward the window and immediately straightened her robe.
“That will be Vanessa.
Please do not start another scene.”
The front door opened before anyone could answer.
Vanessa stepped inside carrying a travel mug and wearing a cream-colored maternity coat.
Brad followed with two garment bags and a box tied with pink ribbon.
“Why is Claire’s van blocking the—”
She stopped when she saw us.
Her gaze moved from Ellie on the sofa to Mason’s soot-streaked pajamas, then to Grandma’s folder.
“What happened?”
“There was a fire,” I said.
For one fleeting moment, concern crossed her face.
“Are you all okay?”
“We got out.”
Mom rushed forward before I could say more.
“They came here in the middle of the night.
The children were coughing, and with your condition, we thought it would be safer for everyone if Claire used a motel.”
Vanessa looked at the children again.
“You sent them to a motel?”
“There was no need for all of us to be exposed to smoke residue,” Mom said.
“You know how sensitive you have been.”
Brad slowly set the gift box on the floor.
“They are children, Linda.”
Dad cut in.
“This has been blown completely out of proportion.
Everyone survived.”
Grandma turned to Vanessa.
“Your sister did not have a wallet.
She and the children spent the rest of the night in the van because the emergency shelter was closed until seven.”
Vanessa’s face changed.
She looked at Mom.
“You knew they had nowhere to go?”
“Claire always finds a way,” Mom replied.
