Her interest in Walter suddenly looked very different.
I needed to hear the explanation directly from her.
So I called.
“Could you come over?”
She sounded surprised. “Are you okay?”
“I need help with some paperwork.”
“What paperwork?”
“For Walter.”
“Of course. I’ll be there tonight.”
Her immediate reaction told me almost as much as the documents did.
She had practically made my next move for me.
Lisa arrived at seven.
Walter was upstairs.
I sat at the kitchen table wearing my new glasses.
She noticed them immediately. “New pair?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Maybe no driving for a while, though.”
I smiled. “Funny you should mention driving.”
She stopped taking off her coat. “What?”
“Why did you take my glasses?”
Her face went blank. “I didn’t.”
“I have a video.”
The color disappeared from her face. “Video of what?”
“You opening my purse and putting my glasses case into your bag.”
Lisa stared at me.
Then she sat.
“Mom…”
“Why?”
“It wasn’t what you think.”
“Then tell me what it was.”
I thought I already understood where the conversation was heading.
I didn’t.
“I was worried about you.”
“So you stole the glasses I needed to drive?”
“You shouldn’t have been driving anyway!”
“Then why did you tell me to use the old pair?”
Silence.
I leaned toward her. “Why were you preparing guardianship papers while I was unconscious?”
“Because somebody had to think about Walter!”
“I was alive.”
“You were in a coma.”
“For eleven days, Lisa. Not eleven years.”
Her jaw tightened.
“And why did you want him four years ago?”
“He’s my nephew.”
“Try again.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“The truth.”
“I loved my brother.”
“So did I.”
“He trusted me.”
That sentence caught my attention. “Did he?”
Lisa looked away.
I put the folder on the table.
She saw the attorney’s letterhead, and her expression shifted.
“Recognize it?”
She said nothing.
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