His eyes were wet, too.
“So, he didn’t leave?” he asked.
I pressed my hand over my mouth and shook my head.
“No, baby. I think he was kept from us.”
The kitchen went silent.
A minute later, Leo said, “Gwen wants to meet us. She says she still has the box.”
That was all it took to get us moving.
The kitchen went silent.
***
By six, Leo and I were in my car heading two counties over, with my parents following in Dad’s truck like this was now a family operation.
Leo kept rereading Gwen’s messages. I kept both hands on the wheel because if I let go, I thought I might come apart.
Gwen lived in a small white house with flowerpots drooping on the porch. My parents promised to stay in the truck unless we needed them. She opened the door before we knocked.
She had Andrew’s mouth. That nearly took my knees out.
Leo kept rereading Gwen’s messages.
“Heather?” she asked.
I nodded.
She started crying. “I’m so sorry.”
