He looked toward the windows, the floor, anywhere but my face.
Vivien stepped closer.
“The house is too large for one person.
You complain about the stairs.
Derek found a senior apartment near Daly City.
It is practical.”
I stared at her.
“You chose an apartment for me?”
“It has activities,” she said.
“Transportation too, since you do not drive.”
Emma’s small voice broke through the silence.
“Dad said Grandma agreed.”
Derek turned toward her.
“Emma, stay out of this.”
“She told us we could have a bigger room after Grandma moved,” Olivia added.
Vivien’s jaw tightened.
“Girls, phones.
Now.”
Neither child moved.
I looked at Derek.
“How did you get inside my house?”
He swallowed.
“The emergency key.”
I had given him that key after James died.
It was supposed to be used if I fell, if a pipe burst, if smoke appeared through a window.
He had used it to bring a real estate agent through my home.
“Was tonight meant to distract me?” I asked.
“No.”
Vivien answered at the same time.
“Yes.”
Derek stared at her.
She gave a frustrated sigh.
“The agent needed time to take measurements.
We invited you here so you would be out of the house.”
The cruelty of the bone had been spontaneous.
The betrayal behind the dinner had been planned.
I picked up my card and handed it to the waiter.
“Please charge the full bill to this card,” I said.
Derek’s shoulders loosened.
“Thank you, Mom.”
“I am paying the restaurant,” I replied.
“Not rescuing you.”
The waiter took the card.
I turned to the manager.
“Would you ask someone to call a taxi for my granddaughters? I will pay for it.
They should not be standing here while this continues.”
Vivien laughed sharply.
“They are leaving with us.”
Emma looked at her father.
“Do you have money for a taxi?”
Derek flinched.
I crouched beside the girls.
“You have done nothing wrong.
Your father will take you home after we finish talking.”
Olivia’s eyes filled with tears.
