Selina touched the hummingbird pendant.
“You tried to sell it.”
“For a doctor’s appointment.”
“You were stealing family property.”
“It was mine.”
My mother smiled.
“Nothing in this house is yours anymore.”
That was when I opened the gate.
My suitcase hit the concrete.
Godfrey dropped his glass.
Selina’s hand flew to her chest.
Phedra simply stared at me.
“Damian?”
I crossed the yard and knelt beside her. When I put my arms around my wife, I almost couldn’t breathe. She felt impossibly light.
“I’m here, honey.”
She touched my face as though checking whether I was real.
“You weren’t supposed to come until next summer.”
“I know.”
She began crying.
Behind me, Selina recovered first.
“Damian, thank God you’re here. You need to understand what we’ve been dealing with.”
I turned slowly.
“What exactly have you been dealing with?”
“Phedra has become impossible. She lies. She breaks things. She steals. She has been draining money on doctors who keep promising treatments that don’t work.”
