Madly Yours novel · Chapter 14 of 32
Chapter 14: Witness Line
I didn't cry.
Leland took the pages out of my hands and set them face down on the blanket.
"I'll call my lawyers," he said.
I shook my head.
I reached for the pad on the nightstand, beside the jar of pills.
Term one. I choose where and when.
He read it.
"Where?"
My mother's house. This morning.
"When?"
Before she has her coffee. She's softer before coffee.
The car turned into St. Francis Wood at seven forty.
My stepfather's grey sedan was in the drive.
He'd come home from Portland in the night.
My mother opened the door in her robe.
She saw me on the step, and Leland a pace behind me on his cane, and the cream envelope in my hand.
Her face went the color of the robe.
"Baby," she said. "Let me explain."
I walked past her into the kitchen.
My stepfather was at the table in his reading glasses with the paper and a mug.
He stood up when he saw me, the way he always had, since I was fourteen and new in his house.
"Colette. Sweetheart."
He looked at Leland, and back at me.
"Is everything all right?"
I put the envelope on the table in front of him.
I opened it to the last page.
I put my finger on my mother's signature.
He read the whole petition, front to back.
The kitchen clock ticked.
My mother stood in the doorway holding the front of her robe closed.
"Wendy," he said. "What is this?"
"It's for her," my mother said. "It's to get her out."
Her voice shook.
"He came here Monday night. His uncle. He sat right there."
She pointed at Leland's chair without looking at Leland.
"He said the marriage was a mistake. He said Leland is dangerous and getting worse. He said if I signed, the annulment would be quick and quiet and the debt would still be gone."
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