The Trouble With Angels Page 0,86

up. We're going to his house for dinner, and then we're going to open gifts."

"I'd rather you hadn't talked to him, Karen," Maureen said in gentle tones, wanting to be sure her daughter understood that she wasn't upset with her. The wrongdoing was all Brian's.

Karen sat at the kitchen table and propped her face in her hands. "I'd figured you'd say that. Dad thought you would, too."

Already Brian was trying to pit her daughter against her.

"All he wanted to do was tell me what time he was picking me up. You don't need to make a federal case out of it."

"I don't mean to sound petty," Maureen said stiffly, "but the terms of the divorce were set this way for a reason."

"Yes, so you could make Dad's life miserable." Karen leaped out of the chair with enough force to send it toppling backward. "You want to keep me away from him. You want to punish him because he's got a good life and you don't."

"Karen." Maureen couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That's not true."

"Did you ever stop to think," Karen said, her eyes bright with tears, "that you were punishing me, too? I love Dad. I miss him sometimes. I know he wasn't a very good husband, and he may not be a very good father, but you seem to forget something, Mom. He's the only dad I've got."

"But - "

"Do you have to spoil what little time I have with him? Do you?"

"I didn't mean - "

"Why do you think Dad hasn't seen me in over a year? I know why...because you make it as difficult as you can for him to have visitation rights."

"Did he tell you that?" Maureen demanded.

"No. He didn't have to, I've seen it myself." Karen's face was tinged red. "I don't want to talk to you anymore," she insisted, and raced from the kitchen.

The silence was like that after an atomic blast. Maureen braced her hands against the counter and waited for the feelings of guilt and anger to pass. An odd combination of emotions warred with each other, battling for dominance. What Karen said was basically true. She had made it as difficult as she could for Karen to visit her father, but it was for Karen's own protection. She couldn't expect a twelve-year-old to understand or appreciate that.

Maureen set the two chicken breasts in the oven and then sank onto the chair. The conversation with Karen played itself back in her mind. Her daughter was almost a teenager, certainly old enough to form her own opinions.

Karen had admitted Brian hadn't been a very good husband. That was putting it mildly. She seemed to know where he ranked in the father department, too. Nevertheless, she looked forward to spending time with him. It went without saying that she was anxious to meet her half brother.

It hurt to think of Brian with another child. The fact that he still had the power to wound her amazed Maureen. In some way she felt cheated; Karen was right about that, too. For to all outward appearances Brian, the liar, the cheat, the thief, had a better life than she had.

Maureen waited until her nerves had settled down before she approached her daughter. She knocked politely on Karen's bedroom door and waited.

"Who is it?"

Maureen played along. "Mom. Can we talk a moment?" She opened the door and looked inside the room.

Her daughter was sprawled across her mattress with the portable phone pressed to her ear. She wore another one of those guilty looks, and Maureen guessed that she was talking long distance to Paula.

"When you're finished speaking to Paula, I'd like a word with you myself."

"All right."

No more than a couple of minutes later, Karen reappeared in the kitchen. Her face was marked with red smudges, and she held herself stiffly.

"How's Paula?"

"Fine."

"Did she offer you any pearls of wisdom you care to pass along?" Maureen asked next. She was sinking lower than she thought. Here she was, well over thirty, seeking counsel from a pair of twelve-year-olds.

"Not really."

Maureen sucked in her breath and decided the only way to get this over with was to say what needed to be said. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

Karen regarded her suspiciously. "Then I can go to Dad's on Christmas Eve without you making a big deal over it?"

"Yes," Maureen said, and added generously, "And I want you to enjoy yourself and to spoil your half brother with lots and lots of attention."

"You do?"

Maureen discovered it was true. Karen deserved this time