The Divorce He Asked For, The Empire I Took Away novel · Chapter 31 of 32
Chapter 31: Budbreak
The kitchen went quiet.
Winona stopped with the spatula in the air.
Augie put his fork down very carefully, the way he'd set down his glass the day he named my wine.
"Something like what?" I said.
Goldie took a folded paper out of the pocket of her school jacket.
She'd made a list.
"Boss," she read. "Because you pay me."
"That's fair."
"Lee. But that's Coralee's, so no." She crossed it out with her finger. "Captain. Mrs. Kessel. Miss Liesl, like at school."
She folded the paper back up.
She didn't read the last one.
"What's the last one?" I said.
She looked at her father.
Then at the windowsill, where we'd put a copy of the beach photo from his kitchen, the laughing woman holding a baby.
"My mom is Mom," Goldie said. "She's always Mom. I'm not giving that one to anybody."
"So I thought Mama." She said it fast, like pulling a splinter. "Because it's different. It's a different word. And you could have that one. If you want it."
Augie got up from the table.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–16 of The Divorce He Asked For, The Empire I Took Away are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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