Antler Crown, Silent Departure novel · Chapter 23 of 24

Chapter 23: Sunday Dinner

Dot's dining room table sat eight, and she had set it for seven.

I wore the green dress, as ordered.

Malcolm wore a clean shirt and stood in the hallway holding a bottle of wine with both hands.

"Put it on the sideboard," Dot said. "Then sit. You're across from me, so I can see your hands."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And don't call me ma'am at my own table."

"Yes, Dot."

Poppy arrived next, carrying a pie in a bakery box, and she was wearing a very large smile.

"I baked it myself," she said.

Dot lifted the lid and sniffed.

"Poppy."

"From scratch."

"There's a sticker on the bottom that says Kroger."

"It's a heritage recipe."

"It's a Kroger recipe," Dot said, and put it on the sideboard beside the wine.

Poppy laughed so hard that she had to sit down.

She had a new haircut and a signed listing agreement in her bag, because the cabin on Indian Lake had gone under contract on Friday for eight thousand dollars over the asking price.

Mr. Brannigan came at five with his wife.

I had met her once before the wedding.

She was small and straight-backed, in a navy cardigan, and she came up the porch steps and stopped on the third one.

"Is this the step?" she asked.

"That's the step," Dot said. "Your son fixed it."

"I know," Mrs. Brannigan said, and her voice was not quite steady. "He told me this morning."

She came in and hugged me without asking, and I let her.

"I should have called you in May," she said into my hair. "I didn't know until the wedding day. I'd like you to know I didn't know."

"I believe you."

"I would have said something. I'd have said it to your face."

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