After she had talked to Jake and read him his favorite bedtime story, Sherry felt drained. Trying to pretend she was fine was exhausting.

As if the rest of the day hasn’t been tough enough. It was hard to believe that Jake’s first day at school had been today and not a week ago. Maybe Rita Mae felt the same, and that was why she had wished everybody a good night right after she’d cleaned the kitchen.

Not even a long, hot shower and putting on her favorite PJs managed to slow her racing thoughts. That strangely didn’t stop her from walking toward Madison, who was lounging on the couch in the dark living room, staring down at her lap. “May I?” Sherry pointed to the other end of the couch.

“Sure.”

She sat down and took in the lights of the city shining through the impressive floor-to-ceiling window. As tempting as it was, she couldn’t ignore their conversation with Jake. They had to talk about it. But words escaped her.

Maybe starting with something else entirely would help. Madison seemed to use this tactic often. “Were you talking with Phil when Jake interrupted you earlier?”

Instead of answering, Madison raised her head to also stare through the glass. She nodded.

“I’m sorry that he interrupted you. I thought I raised him better than to disturb other people’s phone calls.”

Madison waved her off. “It’s fine.”

“Did you call him back?”

“Yeah.”

When nothing more was forthcoming, Sherry suppressed a sigh. I should head to bed. Madison was clearly not in the mood to chat. But was it because of their conversation with Jake or her discussion with Phil? On her way to the shower, she’d heard Madison getting loud and then slamming something that sounded like her cell onto the coffee table.

Not sure what to do, Sherry shifted. Maybe she should just go to bed, even though sleep probably wouldn’t come for a long while.

No. She had promised herself years ago never to take the easy way out, and she wouldn’t start doing it tonight. “Did you have a fight?”

Madison shrugged and took a huge swallow out of a glass that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Was that Madison’s way of telling her that she didn’t want to talk about it, or didn’t she know how to start the conversation either?

In Sherry’s opinion, Phil wasn’t exactly a great friend to Madison. They had probably fought somehow over the party, even though their conversation in the early evening had sounded civil. If they had been fighting, it was only because Madison had looked out for Jake that evening.

I owe her. She moved closer to Madison. “Try again.”

Madison tore her gaze away from the skyline. “Try? What?” She drained her glass.