I take a deep breath and try to push down all the anger that’s built within me today. “No, I get it. It’s just hard, from where I stand. What did Lincoln have to say?”

“A lot. That’s one angry man. And he has reason to be.”

She said this with a note of challenge in her voice. “Yes,” I concede.

At last Tee gives me a reprieve from her stare. “I could relate to some of what he went through growing up, but I tell you, my childhood was The Cosby Show compared to his.”

I try to look interested, but the truth is, I’m not.

“I’ll tell you something, though,” she goes on, her eyes lost in the middle distance. “Him and Aunt Cora . . . they’re lying about something.”

This makes me stand up straight. “What do you mean? About what?”

“I don’t know. A lot of what they told me was straight from the heart. Lincoln’s pain is genuine, but . . . he’s holding something back. Something big. Him more than her, but they both know whatever it is.”

“But you don’t have any idea?”

“Not yet. But I’ll get to it.” Tee looks up again, her eyes less accusing than before. “Heck, I’m liable to wake up in the middle of the night and just blurt it out.”

This image actually brings a smile to my face.

“Anyway,” she says, her eyes almost elfin, “I’m thinking maybe you ought to be there in case that happens.”

For a couple of seconds I’m not sure she said what I think she did. Then she reaches out with her left hand, her forefinger slowly turning in the air, beckoning my hand to hers. When I raise mine, she touches the tip of my forefinger with hers, then hooks her finger around mine.

“What you think, mister?” she says, flexing her finger and pulling my hand back and forth like we do this all the time.

Her unconscious echo of Doris Avery gives me a strange chill. “Um . . . I figured after you disappeared like you did, you wanted to give it a break. Process everything.”

Serenity clucks her tongue twice, her eyes never leaving mine. “I’ve processed it. In fact, I’ve been thinking about it all night. What about you?”

“I’ve thought about it. I guess maybe that’s the real reason I came down here.”

At last she breaks eye contact and uses her free hand to take a sip of her coffee. “Well, then. Let’s not overanalyze. The way I figure it, I can go upstairs and take care of things myself, or you can come up with me and show me how creative you can be.”

“Do I get a vote?”

“I’m afraid you do.”

Wednesday
Chapter 36