Robert waited a minute before opening his nightstand and pulling out a notebook. Fumbling for a pen, his expression turned stern as he wrote down his thoughts. He had never kept a diary before, but after screaming out in terror more than once when he had awoken in a strange house, only to be calmed down when he read his own scribbles, Robert decided that a diary was a good idea. He wanted to always remember what brought them to this place. He wanted to always remember how his daughter’s life was changing for the better since they arrived, and he never wanted to forget the woman who had become much more than just a small part of Joanna’s life...whether Joanna cared to admit it or not.

***

Forty minutes later in the entrance hall of The Oaks, Addison had become a Serengeti leopard locked behind invisible bars. Pacing forth and back across the slate, she checked her watch again only to find the sweep hand had moved a mere thirty notches since last she looked. Her blood pressure crept up yet another tick, and it would have continued if she hadn’t seen Evelyn coming down the stairs.

“Where in the hell is she?” Addison said, placing her hands on her hips.

“She’ll be down in a tick. Relax,” Evelyn said, coming to a stop when she reached Addison. “She wanted to say good night to her father.”

“I don’t like being kept waiting.”

“You do it to people all the time.”

“That’s business.”

Evelyn cocked her head to the side. “And you’re saying this isn’t?”

“I keep them waiting. They do not keep me waiting!”

“Well then, I guess you shouldn’t have married a woman,” Evelyn said as she reached over and dusted off an infinitesimal piece of lint from Addison’s tuxedo.

Without waiting for a response, Evelyn gave Addison a quick wink before gathering her coat and handbag from a chair. “And with that, I think I’ll bid you farewell for the night. I do hope you and Joanna have a marvelous evening.”

“As long as she blends into the background and doesn’t embarrass me, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Evelyn’s face grew rosy as she opened the front door. Turning around, she said, “Addison?”

Staring at her watch, Addison looked up. “What?”

“I doubt very much Joanna will do anything to embarrass you, but as for blending into the background...” Evelyn stopped and tapped her finger against her chin. “That may be a problem.”

Before Addison could even process the comment, Evelyn walked out into the night, closing the door quietly behind her.