Before I could respond, Jennifer appeared behind us.
“No.”
Kayla turned.
Jennifer’s voice was calm.
“Grandma almost never talked about you
unless we asked.”
Lizzie joined us.
“She didn’t need to convince us of anything.”
Kayla looked between them.
“I was your mother.”
Jennifer’s expression softened, and somehow that made her words hurt more.
“You gave birth to us.”
Kayla flinched.
Lizzie continued.
“Grandma became the person we called when we were scared. The person who stayed home when we were sick. The person who taught us to drive. The person who cried at graduation.”
Kayla whispered, “I made mistakes.”
Jennifer nodded.
“Yes.”
“You don’t understand what I was going through.”
“Maybe we don’t.”
Jennifer paused.
“But you never came back to tell us.”
Kayla’s lips trembled.
“I thought there would be time.”
Lizzie looked at her for several seconds.
“There was.”
Kayla frowned.
