Page 69 of Is Anyone Listening?
I took a seat on a rather hard chair while she took the chair next to me, both of us avoiding the couch. Her gaze raked across mine.
"I don't see a resemblance," she said finally.
It wasn't what I'd expected her to say, but I was fine to put off the inevitable heavier conversation. "I look like my mother."
"Your mother," she echoed. "Who is your mother? What's her name? What does she do?"
"Her name was Pamela. She was a teacher."
"Was?"
"She passed away when I was a teenager. I don't have any other siblings, just an uncle on my mother's side, and a few cousins, but they live in Oregon. It's been my father and me for the past fourteen years." I paused. "You really didn't know about me?"
She shook her head but didn't explain.
"I don't understand," I said. "What happened between you and my father?"
"What did he say?"
"Nothing. He refuses to talk about you. He said he never wanted me to know you or for you to know me. And I guess you didn't want to know. Or you would have tried to contact me." I couldn't hide the bitter pain in my voice, and she flinched at my words.
"Your father made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me," she said finally. "I took him at his word."
"You still haven't told me what happened."
"It doesn't matter anymore."
"It matters to me."
"You need to talk to your father, not to me. It was his decision to leave."
"Was it?"
Her lips tightened, and I realized that if I pushed too hard, this conversation would end sooner than I wanted.
"Can you tell me about my grandfather?" I asked, changing the subject.
"He died a long time ago."
"What was he like?"
She appeared taken aback by my question. "Richard was…a lot of things."
"Give me a couple," I prodded.
"I don't know what you want me to say."
"I just want to know something about my grandfather."
"He was a hard worker. He took over the Boatworks after his father passed away, and he made it even bigger than it had been under his dad. He was selling boats all over the world, putting Stonecross on the map. He was determined to keep this town relevant and vital, a place where families could live and work and where their children would want to stay and raise their children. He was once the mayor of the town." Her gaze softened. "He could be very charming."
"It sounds like there's a but…"
"He could also be controlling, rigid in his views, a little too self-focused."
"Sounds like my father took after his dad."
She gave me a startled look. "Really? That's how you would describe your father?"
