After all, the sanitarium director had gone so far as to declare Geraldine deceased to protect her from unwanted attention. A court battle would inevitably lead to a swarm of reporters, photographers, and readers outspoken with their opinions. And when it was all over—when the kids and Geraldine and the Millstones had all been dragged through the legal and public muck—the judgment would most likely be the same.
Ellis dreaded to admit any of this to Lily, of course. Based on her experience with Samuel, he understood why she wouldn’t want to hear it. But the fact remained that similar dilemmas could have different solutions. And, as Ellis could vouch for, a common bloodline didn’t guarantee a thriving, loving family.
Maybe Geraldine was right.
Maybe life was just how it should be.
Chapter 26
Without a doubt, the situation was not how it should be. This Alfred Millstone fellow could hang the moon, and Lily’s stance wouldn’t budge.
“Lily, at least consider it.” These were Ellis’s words on the phone, but his tone said Woman, you’re being stubborn.
It was as if he could see her at her work desk, shaking her head at his reasoning.
“Lily?” he pressed.
Over the afternoon noise of the newsroom, she answered, “All right, I’ll consider it.”
And she would. For two full seconds, she reviewed his summary of the meeting he’d just had with Alfred Millstone, and still she disagreed.
“Listen, I gotta scoot,” he said. “My editor will have my hide if I don’t get a story going. Just promise you won’t do anything rash. Not without talking to me first.”
“Yes. Fine.”
He sighed over the line, as if reluctant to leave someone who claimed to simply be admiring the view—from the ledge of a building.
“I promise,” she said. This was the truth, in the literal respect. She had no plans to do anything she deemed rash.
Only…necessary.
• • •
The trip there and back would take half a day at most. Lily would catch the earliest train to New York so as to return in plenty of time for supper.
“I give you my word on that, sugar bug.” She knelt before Samuel, still in his pajamas, inside the deli’s entrance. Through the windows, the waking sky colored his pouting cheeks with a soft orange glow.
“But, you said we’d do a picnic.”
At the counter, Lily’s mother was readying the register for the shop’s opening in an hour. Her father’s whistling drifted from the back kitchen.
“And we will soon, Samuel. I swear it.” Lily brushed a powdery brown smudge from his check, remnants of his breakfast cocoa. He jerked back a little, his eyes down. “Please understand. I truly hate being away from you. But there are two other children out there, and they don’t get to be with their mommy at all. I want to try to fix that.”
Samuel’s gaze remained on his loafers, both polished by himself. It was one more skill he had learned from her parents, a small milestone conquered in her absence.
The thought would normally have baited her to stay, but she couldn’t ignore the countless milestones Geraldine stood to miss.
“Come now, give Mommy a hug goodbye.” She opened her arms to him. “I need to catch my train so I can hurry right back.”
He glanced up at last, but pinched his mouth in frustration and rushed off through the deli.
“Samuel,” she called out, his sprint continuing up the stairs.
Lily’s mother stepped out from behind the counter. “Not to fret. He’ll be all right.”
Rising to meet her, Lily insisted, “You know I’d never cut into our time together if it weren’t important.”
“I know that, dear.”
Clayton had been occupied for the weekend, leaving Lily more time to ponder during her bus ride to Maryville. Once settled in, she had divulged a portion to her mother in confidence, but only the basics, not wishing to violate Geraldine’s privacy.
Granted, some would say she was about to do just that.
“I’ll be back soon,” she said and kissed her mother on the cheek.
“Have a safe trip.” Her mother offered a strained smile. She was either weary from waking or dubious over Lily’s plans. Before Lily could determine which, she grabbed her handbag from the floor and left for the station.
• • •
It was just after eleven when Lily arrived on Maple Street. She had walked from the depot in Hoboken, saving money on a taxicab. The round-trip train fare was costly enough.
She referred once more to the address inscribed on a scrap of paper—secretaries were as skilled as anyone at locating such details—and stopped at