“I think it’s pretty unlikely,” Kate said to calm them both, “that she’s a murderer. Maybe just a bad mother.” The discussion was getting heated, and she could see that Caroline was feeling cornered, which was how discussions between the three of them often ended up. Caroline was no match for Gemma, just as she hadn’t been for their father. Kate didn’t want her packing up and going back to San Francisco because Gemma badgered her, which was the way Caroline handled unpleasantness. She ran. “Look, Caroline doesn’t have to go. This is a free choice. Why don’t you and I go, and look around on an exploring mission,” she said to Gemma. “We might not see her or find her. She may have moved. She might not want to see us,” Kate said calmly, as Gemma nodded.
“Are we going to call and ask to see her?” Gemma inquired. Kate had been debating about that herself.
“I’d rather not. Why don’t we just drive by her house and get a feeling for where and how she lives? We can always call her if we want to, and ask to see her. If she looks like a total mess, or is falling down drunk in the street, we may not want to see her, and let it go at that. That would at least explain why Dad kept her out of our lives. Or maybe she kept herself out of our lives. Maybe she didn’t want to see us, and Dad was trying to protect us from that rejection. I know he wasn’t an easy person, but this can’t be all Dad’s fault. She has to have played a part in it too. Maybe she abused us, or neglected us, or just didn’t want to see us for all these years. She could have shown up by now. That’s all I really want to know. What happened and why did she leave? And why did she never come back later? Why he lied is his part of the equation, and he’s not here to tell us. Maybe we can figure it out ourselves from her side of the story, and then we’ll feel better about it now that we know about her. I’d never have gone looking for her. It never occurred to me to check it out, or doubt what he told us. Now that we know there’s a discrepancy, and she’s less than an hour from here, I want to go and find out what I can,” Kate said.
“So do I,” Gemma said, nodding at Kate. She agreed with everything she’d said. Caroline didn’t.
“Well, I don’t have that kind of curiosity. She wasn’t here, and I don’t need her anymore, so I’d rather let sleeping dogs lie.”
“And let us do the dirty work,” Gemma reproached her again, and Caroline stood up.
“You don’t need to do anything for me, Gemma. I don’t need to know about her, and don’t even want to. If it’s what you need, fine. But leave me out of it. And if you decide to meet her, don’t bother to include me. I won’t go.” She had made herself clear and Kate respected it, and didn’t want to push her. She could see that her younger sister was way out of her comfort zone, and they were crossing her boundaries, and Kate didn’t want to do that and make her feel ganged up on. Gemma had a powerful personality, like their father, and Kate didn’t want to add to its impact on Caroline. As always, she was the peacemaker, and enjoyed that role, which suited her personality.
“That’s fine, Caro. Don’t stress about it. Gem and I will go, and fill you in later, IF you want us to.” She turned to Gemma then. “What about tomorrow?” Gemma nodded agreement. “We can leave around ten?”
“Works for me. I have nothing to do here.” The dinner lasted a few more minutes, and then Caroline left, with the excuse of checking on her children at her house. Gemma stayed to help Kate put the dishes in the machine.
“Wow, she is sensitive. I forget how fragile she is sometimes.” Gemma looked surprised.
“So did Dad. He didn’t know how to handle her, so he ignored her. I’m not sure what was worse, bullying her, or ignoring her. He never knew how to handle people like her.”
“I don’t think I do either,” Gemma admitted. “She just crawls right into her shell, and refuses to engage.”