“I can’t believe my mom never told me,” I said. “I can’t believe she turned her back on him after he lost everything.”
Sally shrugged matter-of-factly. “I remember your mother. She was in my sister’s class in high school. As soon as she graduated, she was out of here.” She snapped her fingers.
I nodded. That much I’d heard from my mother. On the rare occasions that she mentioned her childhood in Bridgewater, she was always quick to add that she’d escaped this Podunk town as soon as she was legally able. Knowing what I knew now, her sudden departure took on a whole new meaning. She hadn’t left because the town was small or backwards or even ridiculously conservative, which was a complete joke. She’d left because she didn’t like the way Bridgewater people fell in love.
A new thought had m
