Page 45 of My One

She nodded and gave me a thin smile. “About two years ago, Denise came to see me. Your father was at work, and it wasn’t unusual for her to pop by. But this day wasn’t like our normal weekly chats or when we would carpool to book club. She had the envelope with her, and she looked scared.”

“Scared?” Nic asked.

“Well, as it turned out, she had the will drawn up without Doug knowing.”

I nodded and took a sip of my drink. “That’s what I gathered from her note.”

“Right. She told me that you two were getting married and she wanted to go—”

“She did?” I jerked my gaze up to her.

Edna nodded her head slightly. “Doug wouldn’t allow it.”

“Wouldn’t allow it?” Nic asked. “Their son was getting married.”

“I know.” Edna sighed. “She told me that after you opened your bar, Doug told her that they weren’t to have anything to do with you.”

“Why?” I questioned.

“Denise explained to me that running a bar was beneath him.”

“That makes no sense,” Nicole stated. “The bar does amazingly well and is profitable.”

“Denise knew that.”

“She did?” I questioned.

Edna nodded. “She said she used to secretly look up you and your bar on that Facebook all you kids are on.”

“She did?” I asked again.

“It was the only way for her to know what her son was up to.”

“She could have called me,” I stated.

Edna shook her head. “Doug wouldn’t allow that either.”

“What about while he was at work?” Nic inquired. “Couldn’t she have secretly called him?”

“I don’t know why she didn’t. Denise only told me that she had to be estranged from you two because if Doug ever found out, he’d hurt her.”

“Why didn’t she go to the police?” I questioned, starting to become pissed off. My mother was fearful of my father and didn’t do anything about it.Iwould have done something.Iwould have protected her.

“Well, Doug knew almost everyone who matters in this town. He donated a lot of money to local law enforcement.” She took a sip of her spiked lemonade. “If you ask me, I think he just did it in case he needed them for anything.”

“Why?” my wife asked.

“I’m not sure,” Edna admitted. “But your parents were really big in the community, and I imagine your father wanted to keep up a good front.”

“So, he cared about his image more than my mother and me?”

“Sadly, I think so.”

“Why did she stay with him?” Nicole asked. “She didn’t need to stay in California. She could have called us, and we would have helped her.”

Edna leaned forward and placed her hand over Nicole’s. “I asked her the same question, but when you get to be our age, it’s hard to start over. She knew that if she could make the will and give you what she could, then it would all be worth it. She wanted you to have at least half of what she’d sacrificed her life for.”

My throat started to close. “I would have loved a relationship with my mother more than any amount of money.”