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time there was a quiet pause, one or the other would

jump in with a story, a joke, a comment, forcing

Mama to participate, be happy, eat, and drink wine.

Daddy was practically not mentioned at all, but that

didn't stop Mama from gazing around as if she

expected him to arrive any moment, just as he used to

when he was meeting us after court business. Twice.

Brenda caught my eye, and we both knew what she

was doing and feeling.

We went home relatively early, but Mama

showed fatigue and excused herself to go to bed

almost as soon as we walked through the door. Brenda

and Celia stayed up talking with me in the living room

about Mama's condition and how I had to do all I

could to keep her from shrinking,

"After a while, she'll even limit how much of

the house she'll go into," Celia predicted. Brenda

listened intently to her every word, as if she were a

licensed psychiatrist. "She'll get so she won't even

come out of her room. She'll have you bring her meals

there."

"No, she won't. That's not going to happen," I

cried. It was on the tip of my tongue to add. You're

not a psychiatrist. Stop pretending to be one, andwith

my mother, too! But I didn't say it,

"Just call us if anything like that starts to

happen," Brenda said. "She promised me she would

see someone, and I'll follow up on that. You'd better

make sure you're around as much as you can be, and

don't get into any more trouble. April."


Tags: V.C. Andrews Shadows Horror