Chapter 2

There was a moment of stunned silence on the other end of the line.

Then, my mother' s voice, usually so calm and commanding, broke with emotion.

"Oh, baby. Thank God. I'm booking your flight right now."

I could hear the frantic tapping of a keyboard.

"A one-way ticket. For three days from now. Is that enough time for you to pack?"

"Yes," I whispered. "That's enough time."

"Good. Pack what you need. Don't worry about the rest, we can buy you all new things here. Just get yourself here, Jocelyn. Say your goodbyes and get on that plane."

Say your goodbyes.

The phrase sounded so final. A part of me, the stupid, hopeful part, wanted one last chance. One last dinner. One last attempt at closure, to understand how I had lost them so completely.

I spent the next day trying to make it happen.

I called my father' s cell phone. It went straight to voicemail. I called his office. His secretary told me he was in a meeting. I left a message. He never called back.

Finally, I called Andrew. He answered, his voice clipped and annoyed.

"What do you want, Jocelyn?"

"I'm leaving in a few days," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I was hoping we could have one last family dinner. For closure."

He scoffed.

"Closure? After the way you behaved? Maria was crying all night because of you."

My heart sank. Of course. It was all about Maria.

Desperation made me lie.

"I'll cook," I said quickly. "I'll make Maria's favorite. The Cajun crawfish boil she loves so much."

There was a pause. Andrew knew. He knew I had a severe shellfish allergy. He'd seen my hands swell and break out in a painful rash just from being near it when I was a kid.

"Fine," he said, his voice softening just a fraction. "Tomorrow night. I'll tell Dad."

He hung up before I could say anything else.

I stood there, phone in hand, a bitter taste in my mouth. I was literally poisoning myself for a chance to say goodbye to a family that was already gone.