as soon as we got married.
"Oh," she said sighing and sitting back, "it
wasn't so bad in the early years because you were
born right away and I had you to care for and your
father was very attentive and quite devoted to me. Of
course, he was twelve years younger then, but you
must remember, he was already well along in his
years. I bet you never realized that he is old enough to
be my father."
The idea was so preposterous and strange that I
almost laughed, but she didn't crack a smile. Daddy,
her father? My grandfather?
"His age has caught up with him. I admit this is
all partly my fault because I agreed to marry him, but
I was so young and so unhappy then that I didn't think
of what the future would be like.
"And your father made all sorts of wonderful
promises . . . promises he has never kept . . . promises
he can't even remember having made!"
"But you were so in love. You told me so
yourself." My little lifeboat of hope was sinking
rapidly. Everything she told me punched holes in it. "I was young; I didn't know what love was
then." She smiled. "But now, now I understand.
Completely," she added, the brightness and sparkle
returning to her face. "Oh Leigh. . . Leigh," she cried,
"don't hate me, but I'm in love, really and truly in
love."
"What?" I looked back toward the sitting room
and thought about those invitations.
"You've fallen in