Chapter 15 - Her Version of the Truth
Mom asked us to meet at the catering office after the morning deliveries.
Renee came with me.
So did Sheila, at Mom's request.
For once, Mom didn't tell anybody to sit down or be quiet.
She looked exhausted.
"I reset your Northvale password," she told me.
"Your old school email was still open on the tablet. I changed the recovery number and declined the scholarship."
I felt the confession in my ribs.
I'd known, but knowing was not the same as hearing her say it.
"Why the extra message telling them not to contact me?"
"I was afraid someone would ask you before I could explain."
"And the loan?"
She stared at her hands.
"I used your information. I thought I could make the payments."
Sheila closed her eyes.
"Patrice, I told you that wasn't an option."
Mom began to cry.
"The business was all I had left of what Henry and I built."
"Dad was a carpenter," I said.
"He didn't build Good Table. You did."
"He worked nights so I could start it."
"And I worked nights so you could keep it."
Nobody answered.
Finally Mom looked at me.
"I thought if I delayed you one year, I'd have time to fix everything."
"You didn't delay me. You tried to make the decision for me."
Renee asked whether Mom would give a truthful written statement to the university and lender.
Mom wiped her face.
"I can tell them what I did."
"Without asking Zarya to come home in exchange," Sheila said.
Mom nodded once.
Her confession was not forgiveness, and it did not undo the damage.
But it was evidence.
Before we left, my phone rang.
It was Leah from Northvale.
May you like
"The scholarship trustees moved their meeting up," she said.
"They're voting this afternoon."
