Bea turned back from her pace through the living room and stared open-mouthed at her mother. “You don’t get it, do you? You’ve made a mess of my life by telling Phillip. The man is insane. Are babies so important to you that you’ll take psycho grandchildren just to have them?” Her mom bowed her head as she sat next to Tony on the couch. The man, chief operations officer of a national catalogue company, was smart enough to stay out of it. Her mother, however, was another matter. She was as clueless as Phillip. No wonder they connected. Her mother fidgeted. “I’m sure you’re exaggerating.” She gripped her hands tight, aggravated beyond her limit. Her throat constricted as she spoke through gritted teeth. “No. I’m not.” Bea forced herself to unclamp her jaw. “This is the last time you will mess around with my life. You better get used to life without me because I’m not coming over and I’m not calling you. Quite frankly, I need a break from you. If I could move, I’d leave the country.”
