Page 9 of After Anna

Maggie remembered the day, when she’d taken Anna to a friend’s gender-reveal party. All the other moms had been so happy, but she’d felt miserable, then felt guilty for feeling miserable, a double-whammy of self-loathing.

“And look, when she was really little.” Kathy swiped to the earlier photo of Anna in a diaper, sleeping in her crib. She had on a yellow onesie that matched her yellow-plaid bumpers. “Ah, I remember bumpers. You’re not supposed to use them anymore, did you know that? You’re supposed to let the baby sleep in a box.” Kathy looked over, then frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Sure, fine—” Maggie started to say, then stopped herself. “Not really. I’ll have to explain to Anna the whole postpartum thing. I don’t know how much she knows, if anything. She said she wants to understand what happened, with me.”

“Oh, honey. She’ll understand.” Kathy touched Maggie’s shoulder, with a sympathetic frown. “Don’t worry about it. Just be happy about this, it’s great. Show me another picture.”

“I don’t have any more. Florian said he would give me copies but he never did.”

“Oh, what a jerk! He’s unforgivable.” Kathy loved to hate on Florian, and Maggie used to love dishing with her, but she was beyond that now, supposedly.

“Let’s not start on him.”

“Why not?” Kathy shot back. “Getting custody of Anna was just about power for him. That’s why he dumped her in boarding school and went flying around the world with his girlfriends. It would be one thing if you had still been sick and he was truly afraid for her welfare, but you had recovered by then. Did Anna tell him that she was going to call you?”

“Yes. He didn’t think that I would come.”

“How dare he! Of course you would! You’re her mother, whether he likes it or not.” Kathy scowled. “I wonder what he’s up to these days.”

“Being rich, I assume. He didn’t work after he sold the app.” Maggie remembered Florian had been so driven, then he hit the techie’s dream, an IPO jackpot. She’d put him through business school by working in Penn’s registrar’s office, delaying her plans to go to law school. But she had never been more than a means to an end for him, and she was more alone married to him than she had been single, especially after the baby came along.

“Did he get remarried?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t you stalk him online?”

“Not anymore.”

“You’re not the woman I thought you were.” Kathy smiled. “I still stalk Ted. It’s fun. Remember when he broke his ankle skiing? I couldn’t stop laughing. I wasdelighted.” Kathy slid the phone from Maggie’s hand. “Gimme.”

“Why?”

“I’ll get his address, and we’ll make him give you back those pictures.” Kathy scrolled through Maggie’s phone, logging into the Internet.

“I’m not going to write him.”

“If you don’t, I will.” Kathy typed into the phone.

Maggie looked away, walking along. The sun was peeking over the treeline, bathing everything in amber. Bees, butterflies, and white moths fluttered over the tall grass in the meadow. Birds chirped, and a goldfinch flew by, its wings flapping to reveal a bright yellow body. There was so much life in nature, it surprised her every time. And she was about to reconnect with Anna. Mother and daughter together, the way it was supposed to be.

Kathy gasped. “Oh no. Look.”

“What?” Maggie turned to see Kathy holding up the phone screen. Online was a news story dated last month, March 8, with the headline:

TECH MOGUL FLORIAN DESROCHES AND FAMILY KILLED IN PLANE CRASH OUTSIDE LYON

Chapter Seven

Noah, After

TRIAL, DAY 6

Noah watched as Linda hustled to the jury box, all five-feet-three inches of her, short but nonetheless powerful. Her navy-blue suit was tailored closely around her superfit frame, and she must have been a runner because she had fast-twitch muscles in her calves, which Noah identified from his days running cross-country.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Linda Swain-Pettit and I represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In other words, I represent the citizens of this great state, oryou. The purpose of a closing argument is to review the important testimony you have heard in this courtroom. The judge will tell you when he charges you on the law that the Commonwealth retains the burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. I believe we have more than met that burden and I will set forth the testimony and evidence that supports my statement. Excuse me a moment.”

Linda strode to the trial exhibits, slid one out, and placed it on an easel. It was a whimsical selfie of Anna, grinning down against a clear blue sky, enlarged to poster-size. She had been such a pretty girl, with large blue eyes, prominent eyebrows, a longish nose, but a small mouth with full lips. Her light brown hair tumbled to her shoulders, revealing a fresh young face that was shaped like a Valentine’s Day heart. She smiled in a sweet way that showed her dimples, whichnormally reminded him of Maggie. Today Noah felt unsettled by the photo. It was directly in his line of sight, as if it were watching him.