Noah couldn’t speak.
“Hello, Noah,” she finally said. Noah said nothing.
“May I come in?” she asked, her voice steady, revealing nothing.
He stammered out a reply as she walked past him, stopping just before the stairs.
“Who is it?” Allie shouted from the kitchen, and the woman turned at the sound of her voice.
“It’s your mother,” Noah finally answered, and immediately after he said it, he heard the sound of breaking glass.
“I knew you would be here,” Anne Nelson said to her daughter as the three of them sat around the coffee table in the living room.
“How could you be so sure?”
“You’re my daughter. One day when you have kids of your own, you’ll know the answer.” She smiled, but her manner was stiff, and Noah imagined how difficult this must be for her. “I saw the article, too, and I saw your reaction. I also saw how tense you’ve been during the last couple of weeks, and when you said you were going shopping near the coast, I knew exactly what you meant.”
“What about Daddy?”
Anne Nelson shook her head. “No, I didn’t tell your father or anyone else about it. Nor did I tell anyone where I was going today.”
The table was silent for a moment as they wondered what was coming next, but Anne remained quiet.
“Why did you come?” Allie finally asked.
Her mother raised an eyebrow. “I thought I would be the one to ask that question.”
Allie paled.
“I came because I had to,” her mother said, “which I’m sure is the same reason you came. Am I right?”
Allie nodded.
Anne turned to Noah. “These last couple of days must have been full of surprises.”
“Yes,” he answered simply, and she smiled at him. “I know you don’t think so, but I always liked you, Noah. I just didn’t think you were right for my daughter. Can you understand that?”
He shook his head as he answered, his tone serious. “No, not really. It wasn’t fair to me, and it wasn’t fair to Allie. Otherwise she wouldn’t be here.”
She watched him as he answered, but she said nothing. Allie, sensing an argument, cut in:
“What do you mean when you say you had to come? Don’t you trust me?”
Anne turned back to her daughter. “This has nothing to do with trust. This has to do with Lon. He called the house last night to talk to me about Noah, and he’s on his way here right now. He seemed very upset. I thought you’d want to know.”
Allie inhaled sharply. “He’s on his way?”
“As we speak. He arranged to have the trial postponed until next week. If he’s not in New Bern yet, he’s close.”
“What did you say to him?”
“Not much. But he knew. He had it all figured out. He remembered my telling him about Noah a long time ago.”
Allie swallowed hard. “Did you tell him I was here?”
“No. And I won’t. That’s between you and him. But knowing him, I’m sure he’ll find you here if you stay. All it takes is a couple of phone calls to the right people. After all, I was able to find you.”
Allie, though obviously worried, smiled at her mother. “Thank you,” she said, and her mother reached for her hand.
“I know we’ve had our differences, Allie, and that we haven’t seen eye to eye on everything. I’m not perfect, but I did the best I could with raising you. I’m your mother and I always will be. That means I’ll always love you.”
Allie was silent for a moment, then: “What should I do?”
“I don’t know, Allie. That’s up to you. But I would think about it. Think about what you really want.”
Allie turned away, her eyes reddening. A moment later a tear drifted down her cheek.
“I don’t know. . . ” She trailed off, and her mother squeezed her hand. Anne looked at Noah, who had been sitting with his head down, listening carefully. As if on cue, he returned her gaze, nodded, and left the room.
When he was gone, Anne whispered, “Do you love him?”
“Yes, I do,” Allie answered softly, “very much.” “Do you love Lon?”
“Yes, I do. I love him, too. Dearly, but in a different way. He doesn’t make me feel the way Noah does.”
“No one will ever do that,” her mother said, and she released Allie’s hand.
“I can’t make this decision for you, Allie, this one’s all yours. I want you to know, though, that I love you. And I always will. I know that doesn’t help but it’s all I can do.”