The Perfect Family by Kathryn Shay Read Free Book Online Page A

older?”
    “I got married in the eighties and my husband hired a private detective. But by that time there was no trace of Caroline. Teresa, we didn’t even know the name of who she married. She never told us.”
    “I guess I understand.”
    “Please, tell me why you’re calling. How is Caroline?”
    “Not good, Maggie. Not good at all.”
     
    *
     
    Mike arrived home after a grueling budget meeting at work. His wife wasn’t in the kitchen so he climbed the stairs and found her sitting on their bed, phone in hand, a bereft expression on her face. “Mag, what’s wrong?”
    She lifted the phone. “You won’t believe this.”
    “Is it the boys?”
    “No, they’re fine.” Shaking her head, she seemed mystified. “Remember a Teresa DeAngelo called over the holidays?”
    Relieved, he sank down on the bed. “Yeah, I forgot all about it.” He glanced at the phone. “Did she call again?”
    “Yes. Oh, Mike, she’s my niece. She’s Caroline’s daughter.”
    Knowing how badly his wife had been hurt by the events in her childhood and how it had affected her adult life, he grasped her hands. “Your sister Caroline?”
    Maggie nodded.
    “Wow, this is a surprise.” Shock was more like it. “What happened to her?”
    “She married the divorced man she told my parents about and had one child. By Teresa’s account, they were a happy family and had a good life.” Maggie shook her head and smiled. “She’s a teacher like me.”
    “Oh, sweetheart.”
    “I’m thrilled she was happy all those years. I missed her so much and worried about her.”
    “I know.” He waited. “Why did her daughter call now?”
    “Because Caroline’s husband, the love of her life according to Teresa, died a few days before Christmas. He was quite a bit older than she, and Caroline’s been depressed. Her daughter’s worried and decided to call her family.”
    “So they knew what happened to you?”
    “Yes, apparently Caroline knew I was married, had kids. Even where I lived.”
    “That’s more than we could find out about her.”
    “Because we didn’t know her last name or the identity of her husband. Actually, I still don’t. Teresa wasn’t very forthcoming with details.”
    “Did she say why Caroline never contacted you? You were so close.”
    Mike’s comment was an understatement. Caroline had been more of a mother to Maggie than Gertrude Lorenzo was. And when her older sister left, Maggie’s world had been turned upside down.
    “No. She said Caroline should talk to me about all that.”
    “What did Teresa want, honey?”
    “Help with her mother. Who, by the way, doesn’t know her daughter called me.”
    “In any case, it’s good news. What’s next?”
    “Teresa’s going to tell Caroline we talked. I told her I wanted, very much, to see my sister. I’d fly out there, meet her anywhere. Or she could come here.”
    Smiling at his wife’s excitement, Mike smoothed a hand down her hair. “I’m so happy you’ve found her.”
    And, he thought with a sudden burst of inspiration, maybe God was at work here. One of the reasons Maggie had such trouble with the Catholic Church was because the Lorenzos’ pastor had been the one to advise her parents to disown Caroline if she went through with the marriage to a divorced man.
    Suddenly Maggie’s eyes widened. “Oh, Lord, Mike, my mother will have a fit.”
    “Maybe not. Maybe she regrets what happened and will want to see her oldest daughter.”
    “That would be a miracle.”
    He gave her a half-smile. “God does provide those once in a while.”
    “You know, I always wondered why God deserted Caroline.”
    “Oh, honey, He didn’t.”
    Maggie stared at him.
    “And as far as your mother’s concerned, you’re forgetting what your counselor said. She can’t hurt you anymore if you don’t let her.”
    “You’re right.”
    Mike hoped he was. He hoped and prayed that having Caroline in their lives now was a gift, not a burden, one that might help Maggie