“A kitten? I can’t imagine... My mother never would have pets. She was too house-proud. But that’s not enough to explain a major falling-out, surely?” Christy paused. “What happened?”

Robyn wrapped her arms around herself. “You weren’t well. You had croup. Some respiratory virus. I don’t know. While Elizabeth was in the kitchen fetching you a drink, I gave you the kitten. You couldn’t stop hugging it. Then your mother came back into the room, saw the kitten and freaked out.” Robyn could hear Elizabeth’s voice in her head. What have you done this time? How could you? “She said it was typical of me. Impulsive. Irresponsible. And she was right, of course. And by then the rescue center was calling me because the kitten was missing, and someone had suggested asking me about it.” It was hard to even remember the person she’d been back then. Hard to figure out what she’d been thinking. Why she’d made the decisions she’d made. “Elizabeth told me to take the kitten right back. You wouldn’t let it go.”

“But how did—”

“You had some sort of allergic reaction. An asthma attack or something. You basically had your nose in that kitten’s fur, and I didn’t stop you because I thought it was great that you liked my gift so much. It made me feel good, and not much back then made me feel good. But then you started wheezing and struggling to breathe, and then you turned this horrible color, sort of blue...” She closed her eyes, still able to see it in her mind. “It was awful. Lots of my memories of that time have vanished, but not that one. Elizabeth called the emergency services. They rushed you to hospital. I wanted to go in the ambulance, too. I wanted to know you were okay, but it was the final straw for Elizabeth. She blamed me, and she was right to. It was my fault.”

“But you didn’t mean for it to happen.” Christy’s voice was soft. “You made a kind gesture that had an unfortunate outcome. You couldn’t have predicted that.”

“Maybe not, but that didn’t matter. The last time I saw Elizabeth was by that ambulance. She was terrified. And she told me that was it. That she never wanted to see me again. She screamed at me. It was the only time in my life I ever saw her lose control, and it was because of you, of course. She loved you so much. You were her fresh start. Her new, perfect family.”

“I—I remember shouting. It’s one of my earliest memories, but I’ve never been able to figure out what it was related to.”

“You remember? I hoped you wouldn’t.” Robyn felt a wave of guilt. “I took the kitten back and was fired, obviously, but I didn’t even care. I thought I’d killed you, and that was the only thing that mattered. It was the lowest point of my life.”

“Oh Robyn.” Christy kept her hand on her aunt’s arm. “How did you find out I was okay? Did my mother call you?”