The whole yard had gone silent.
My mother’s chin trembled. For a second, I thought she might lie. Then she straightened her back the way she always did in church.
“Since you were seven,” she said. “Since the week Ron Calder left. Joyce came to my door crying and told me everything. She said Ron had found out and walked out, and she didn’t know what to do with that little girl.” She looked across the yard at Paige. “So I went and got her.”
A murmur ran through the guests.
“You brought home the daughter of the woman Dad cheated with,” I whispered. “And you never told me.”
“She was seven, Meredith. She was a baby. None of it was her fault.” My mother’s eyes filled. “And you loved her so much. The minute she sat next to you on that bus. I couldn’t take that from you. I couldn’t let your father’s sin be the thing that ruined the best thing in your life.” She wiped her eyes. “Joyce told Paige when she turned sixteen. And Paige came to me. And I begged her not to tell you. I told her it would break your heart about your daddy. She kept her promise to me for twenty-eight years.”
