Chapter 2 - The Story They Were Building
Graham was waiting in the kitchen the next morning. He had made coffee for both of them. That was how Natalie knew he was afraid. When Graham was guilty, he became considerate.
He loaded the dishwasher. He remembered birthdays. He touched the small of her back as if tenderness could erase whatever he had done.
“Piper’s still asleep,” he said.
Natalie set her mug down untouched.
“What was she practicing?”
Graham’s expression barely changed.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
He looked toward the stairs.
“She’s six. She says strange things.”
“She said you told her to practice making me stay home.”
Graham leaned against the counter.
“You’ve been working late every night.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“She misses you.”
“So you coached her to say I don’t want her?”
His jaw tightened.
“Sienna was trying to help her express a feeling.”
“Sienna told her to say it louder.”
For the first time, something flickered across his face. Natalie saw it and understood that he knew exactly what she had heard.
“You listened to the thermostat,” he said.
“I listened to what happened in my house.”
“Those clips are incomplete.”
“Then complete them.”
Graham looked away.
“Sienna was collecting observations.”
“For whom?”
“For me.”
“Why?”
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“Because we need to be realistic about Piper’s situation.”
Natalie stared at him.
“What situation?”
“You’re gone twelve hours a day. You missed the pediatrician appointment last month. You forgot her parent conference.”
“I rescheduled the conference.”
“After the teacher called me.”
“I was presenting to the board.”
“And that’s more important?”
Natalie felt the old familiar guilt rise inside her. Graham had learned how to use it years ago. He never accused her directly. He simply placed the facts between them and waited for her to condemn herself.
She refused.
“Are you building a custody case?”
He gave a humorless smile.
“Listen to yourself.”
“Answer me.”
“You think I want to take Piper away?”
“I think you want evidence that I’m an unfit mother.”
The silence between them seemed to confirm it. Sienna entered carrying a laundry basket. She stopped when she saw their faces.
“You can go,” Natalie said.
Sienna looked at Graham. That glance told Natalie more than an admission would have.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Sienna said.
“You threw food on my child.”
“I regret that.”
“You made her repeat something about me.”
Sienna’s mouth tightened.
“I was following instructions.”
“Whose?”
Graham stepped forward.
“That’s enough.”
Natalie turned to him.
“You don’t get to end this conversation.”
“I do when you’re frightening everyone in this house.”
“You’re going to fire her.”
“No.” The answer was immediate.
Natalie looked at Sienna.
“Pack your things.”
Sienna laughed once, without humor.
“You still don’t understand.”
“I understand that you are no longer employed here.”
“If I leave, Graham will say I acted alone.”
Graham’s face went white. Natalie caught it.
Sienna continued, “He has recordings too. Ones that make you look terrible.”
“Sienna,” Graham warned.
“He told me the court would believe a mother who worked all day was neglectful. He said you were already halfway out the door.”
“You’re lying,” Graham said.
“You gave me a list of phrases to use with Piper.”
Natalie’s pulse hammered.
“What phrases?”
Sienna looked at her.
“That you chose work. That you loved your office more than your house. That Daddy was the one who stayed.”
Graham lunged toward her, but stopped himself. Piper appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
“Daddy?”
Graham turned instantly gentle.
“Go back upstairs, sweetheart.”
Piper did not move.
“Mommy,” she whispered, “can I tell you something?”
Natalie went to her. Piper held up the drawing book. On a new page, she had drawn a blue square beneath the floorboards of her bedroom. Beside it were three crooked words.
Daddy says secret. Natalie crouched.
“What is in the secret?”
Piper looked past her at Graham.
“The things he says you can’t know.”
Graham’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen, and the color drained from his face. Natalie reached for it before he could answer. The caller ID showed a name she had never seen.
Mara Voss. Graham snatched the phone away.
“Who is Mara Voss?”
May you like
Natalie asked. He did not answer. Piper began to cry.
“Daddy said if I told,” she said, “you would have to live in an apartment and I would stay here.”
