“Before she and the general met. Mom didn’t have anything but her beauty and brains and the desire to make something of herself. She rented this crummy apartment—which wasn’t quite so crummy at the time but is definitely worse now—so she could afford to pay for classes to get her degree. I’d just turned fourteen when she brought me here and told me her story. I didn’t know it at the time, but she’d been diagnosed recently. Later, she said she didn’t want me to associate my birthday with her cancer. Nine months ago, when I was on leave, I saw the apartment was available again and I signed a lease. It’s up in three months and I’m trying to decide what to do. At the time, though, it was an impulse thing. Something that made me feel closer to her.”

“I know she died when you were young.”

“She had ovarian cancer. Four months after she brought me here, she died.”

“I’m so sorry, Sarah.”

“I am too. And neither she nor the general said a word about her illness until two weeks before she died. They didn’t tell us. Can you believe it? Our mother was dying and they didn’t tell us.” She cleared her throat to fight the surge of tears. “That’s the real reason I chose this apartment. At least that’s what I tell myself.”

“And the fact that it made your father mad was just gravy.”

“Yes.” She swallowed and looked at him. “I wanted to make him mad. I’ve been making him mad since the day my mother died.”

“Why?”

“Anger. I was so very angry.”

“Didn’t you suspect something was wrong when she was so sick?”

Sarah shrugged. “I thought she had the flu for a while, and truthfully, I wasn’t home a lot. Caden was four years older and already in his first year of college. Dustin was ten and oblivious. The general was overseas.” She shrugged. “And you have to understand, Mom was a master makeup artist and actor. I didn’t notice anything was terribly wrong until she passed out and I couldn’t wake her up. I had to call 911. That’s when she finally told us what was going on. I was devastated.”

“And angry.”

“Yes.” She paused. “I think I’m still angry about that.” She nodded at the building. “That helps for some reason.”

His fingers squeezed hers. “Your father didn’t understand why you wanted to live here?”