Mary had intentionally interrupted Rachel's story telling and while I wanted to ask her about it, I waited until she was ready to tell me herself why she had done so. The main reason I was invited to the dinner was so that we could have that chance to talk to each other in private and now that we had that moment, Mary told me to hold off the dish washing and to sit down at the kitchen table with her first. The door to the room was closed and while we could hear the chattering from the dining room, there wasn't a chance that they could hear us from there.
"I don't know how to start or phrase this... Either way, it'll come as a shock to you," Mary said in a low tone, catching my concern. I was aware that she had some pressing news she wanted to tell me and that it involved my parents, but w
