They had each taken the bus that morning, leaving the Toyota in the garage to save gas. When Alina arrived fifteen minutes later, she appeared exhausted.Leonard immediately flipped on the television and called for a family meeting.“I still have homework to do,” Natalia protested.“It’s time for your mother and I to share some things with you. You deserve to know the truth.”Sighing, Natalia tossed her books and a three-ring binder on the dining room table. She approached the couch hesitantly.Alina’s wide eyes searched Leonard’s for a sign of hope. He shook his head solemnly. Her face fell and she dropped onto the couch in disbelief. Leonard retrieved a kitchen chair and pushed the coffee table out of the way so that he could sit close to the women and maintain a position of authority.Authority.The arrangement was not unlike that which he had experienced in Carlyle’s office, but from the opposite perspective — the girls on the couch and Leonard towering above them.The thoughts that followed both shocked and appalled Leonard.
