Ask Mariah by Barbara Freethy

Author:Barbara Freethy [Freethy, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9780380785322
Publisher: Avon
Published: 1997-05-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

The rest of the evening sped by. Joanna sorted through the boxes in the attic, setting aside journals, newspaper clippings, and photos in one pile; old clothes and anything that fell into the category of "stuff" in another.

The upstairs bedrooms didn't warrant much more than a quick search, as three of them didn't appear to have been used in quite some time. Even Ruby Mae's bedroom was bereft of the attic's clutter of sentiment. It seemed as if she had locked the past away long before her actual death.

Lily and Rose had a grand time playing dress up, but by seven o'clock they were clamoring for dinner. Because Michael still seemed to be enthralled with studying the beams that supported the house, Joanna made a pizza and soda run and called her mother to tell her she'd be late.

Caroline seemed resigned to spending yet another evening alone. Maybe if she spent enough time alone, she'd find someone else to do things with. After all, she couldn't spend the next twenty years of her life entertaining her mother. But she still felt bad, which made her order extra cheese on the pizza. Guilt always made her hungry.

When she returned to the house, Michael and the girls had lit candles and cleared off the kitchen table. As they picnicked on pizza, Joanna felt as if they were a family. It would be so easy to let herself forget Angela, even though she knew the other three could never forget.

"Tell me about your mother," she said impulsively. "What was her favorite food?"

"Spaghetti," the twins chorused.

She smiled at Michael. "I should have predicted that."

Michael didn't smile back. "Joanna, don't."

"I'm curious about her." She turned her attention to Lily. "What was your favorite game to play with your mother?"

"Dress up."

Rose agreed. "Sometimes Mama would let us wear her high heels and her jewelry, and we'd put on makeup and pretend we were going to a party."

"She trained them well," Michael said with disgust.

"Daddy didn't like it," Lily said to Joanna, obviously irritated with her father's comment. "Mama said we were the prettiest girls in the world."

Maybe she should end the discussion. Michael was growing more uncomfortable with each question, and the girls seemed to be taking sides against him. Somehow Angela had built a wall between the girls and their father. Her death had made the wall even bigger.

"Mama was fun," Rose said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "She laughed all the time -- well, most of the time. Sometimes she cried." Rose darted a look at her father, then slid her chair closer to Joanna.

Michael suddenly stood up. "I'm going to take a few more measurements outside."

"We can change the subject," she suggested.

"Why? I'm sure the girls would love to tell you about their mother and our fights and about how mean I was to Angela." He started to say more, then bit down on his lip, turned on his heel, and slammed out the back door.

"Daddy's mad," Lily observed. "Mama always made him mad.

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