Limited Love novel · Chapter 10 of 24

Chapter 10: Her Mother's Kitchen

My mother had made pot roast, because she cooked when she was frightened.

The McDonough kitchen in Newton smelled of onions and burned flour, the way it had when I was ten.

My father sat at the head of the table with the bank's letter folded beside his plate, and he did not look at it.

Maisie sat across from me with a bunch of tulips she had brought from the shop and forgotten to put in water.

"I'll say it again," she said. "If that man shows up, I'm going to hit him with a pot."

"Maisie."

"A small pot."

The doorbell rang at eight.

Nobody moved.

"Chester," my mother whispered. "Let it ring."

"I'll go," said my father, and his chair scraped.

I heard the front door open and the low murmur of two men in the hall.

When my father came back, Chadwick was behind him, in a dark overcoat, with a grocery bag in each arm.

My mother stood up.

"Chadwick," she said, and then she stopped, because she did not know what came next.

"Mrs. McDonough." He put down the bags. "I brought bread. And the good butter."

"We have butter."

"I know. I wanted to bring something."

Maisie's hand moved toward the salt shaker.

I put my fork down.

"Mr. McDonough," Chadwick said, and turned to my father. "I didn't call that loan. I haven't looked at that file in two years. My assistant's delegated access was used. I'm finding out who used it, and I'm going to undo it."

My father looked at him for a long time.

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