She didn’t want to arrive at her parents’ upset, and right now she was upset, really upset, and it was all Jude’s fault. What a jerk. What an asshole. And if he really was so smart, and graduated from UC Davis with honors, then why did he live like a bum? Forty minutes later, Kit opened the front door of her childhood home and heard her mother laughing. For a second she just stood there and listened. Her uncle Jack was telling a story and Aunt Linda and Mom kept laughing. They must be in the family room from the way the sound traveled. Slowly Kit unbuttoned her jacket, letting the day’s frustration and anger go. This was how she wanted to remember her mom. And this is how she wanted to remember this house. As a happy house. A house full of family and love and laughter. Because even in the most challenging of times, the Brennans and Donahues told jokes and teased and made light of their difficulties. Hanging her coat in the hall closet, Kit was glad. She couldn’t even imagine growing up in a family like Delilah’s.
