What Happened That Night

27

Ruth Anne

Edmonds, Washington – 2018

In early November,we kicked off the book fair, which meant the library was in a state of complete chaos. Even though I loved getting shiny new books into the hands of my students, I didn’t like how book fair week disrupted my peaceful, cozy sanctuary.

I especially didn’t like all the marked-up dollar store junk available for purchase. Just how many big pencils, stuffed animals, and cheap sunglasses did a student need?

Shortly after lunch, our author Meg arrived with her daughter, Shelby. I’d met Meg a few years ago when she asked me about volunteering with the prison literacy program. While I thought teaching prisoners to read was a good idea in theory, I had no desire to volunteer at a prison.

Instead, I’d given Meg a cash donation, hoping that would satisfy her. It did for a while, but then she asked me again about volunteering.

If she wasn’t so sweet about it, I might’ve gotten irritated. But it was impossible to get irritated with Meg when she was such a kind and generous person.

“Your library is adorable.” Meg admired all the decorations my volunteers made for the book fair as well as my cozy reading nook. “I might have to come back and take a little reading nap in that big, overstuffed chair.”

“Me too,” her daughter said.

I laughed. “Be my guest.”

As volunteers trickled over to meet Meg, I asked if she needed anything before her presentation.

“No, my daughter takes care of everything, so I’m all set.”

“Well, I’m really looking forward to hearing you speak. I’ve always loved your books and have spent hours reading them to my great-nephews. Before too long, I’ll be able to read them to my granddaughters. My daughter is having twins.”

“That’s wonderful,” Meg said. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you.”

The rest of the day continued just as pleasantly as it began. Everything went well with Meg’s presentation, and sales from the book fair far exceeded my expectations. On the drive home, I sang along to the radio, happier than I’d been in a long time. Somehow, I just knew that everything was going to be okay.

As I turned onto my street, I saw Salvador’s car parked in front of my house. On instinct, my heart gave a pleasant skip, remembering how he’d flirted with me at Steak-mart. Then worry set in. Had something happened to the girls? Is that why he was here?

I quickly parked in the driveway, and we both stepped out of our cars at the same time. “What is it?” I asked. “Is it the girls?”

Salvador’s expression was serious as he shook his head. “The girls are fine. I just need to talk to you about something. Something kind of difficult.”

“Okay.” My heart in my throat, I led him into the living room, and we sat on the couch. “Is it Abuela?” I asked. “Is she sick?”

He shook his head. “No, she’s fine. I’m here because the girls asked me to come talk to you.”

“About what?”

Salvador pushed out a slow breath. “They took a DNA test to see if they were really half sisters.”

“What?”

He nodded. “They just received their results.”

An ice-cold fear settled in the pit of my stomach. “Why are you telling me this?”

“They weren’t a match, Ruthie. They’re not sisters.” Salvador’s voice was gentle but firm. “They don’t have the same father. Eddie wasn’t... He’s not Lia’s father.”

My mind whirled. “No. He has to be. I saw him that night.”

“You must’ve seen someone else.”