I Thought Love Had to Be Earned Through Chores, They Hugged Me novel · Chapter 20 of 24

Chapter 20: Lake Geneva

I carried the check stubs downstairs in both hands.

Mom was still at the kitchen counter.

Dad came down behind me, rubbing his eyes, his sweater creased from the rug.

I put the bundle on the marble in front of Mom.

"These were in her boot," I said.

Mom pulled off the rubber band.

She went through them one at a time.

She didn't make a sound.

She just turned them over, and over, and over.

"Youth outreach," she read. "I signed these. I signed them because she asked. She said it was for girls like her. In group homes."

"It was for a girl like her," Dad said.

Mom laid the last stub down.

She squared the stack with her fingertips until the edges lined up perfectly.

Then she slid it into her handbag and snapped it shut.

"Saturday," she said.

That was all.

Wesley came in from the garage with his car keys.

He looked at the handbag, then at Mom's face, and didn't ask.

He looked at me instead.

"Get your coat," he said. "We're going somewhere."

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