She narrowed her eyes.
“I didn’t come here to argue.”
“No. Apparently, you came with an attorney.”
The school bus turned onto our street before either of us spoke again.
My heart jumped.
I hadn’t wanted Jeffrey and George to see her like this.
But there wasn’t time.
The bus stopped.
The boys climbed off laughing about something.
Then George noticed the SUV.
Jeffrey noticed Vanessa.
Both stopped.
I had shown them photographs.
I never lied about who she was.
So they knew.
Vanessa smiled brightly.
“Hi, boys.”
Neither answered.
She stepped toward them.
“My goodness. Look at you.”
George shifted closer to Jeffrey.
Then Vanessa made a mistake so small that it said more than any courtroom speech ever could.
She pointed toward Jeffrey.
“George?”
Jeffrey’s face changed.
Vanessa corrected herself immediately.
“Sorry. Jeffrey.”
George looked at me.
I saw something in his eyes I hadn’t seen in years.
