They had just returned home from the hospital, where they’d visited Ingrid, and from what her doctors said, there was little hope she’d live long enough to see 2002. The entire family—Beth, Billy, Grace, Jude and Mindy—left the hospital clinging to one another, in tears. Ingrid Armstrong had always been the backbone of the family—the best chef and baker in the house, not to mention their bottomless well of wisdom and strength. Losing her was unthinkable. So it was in this frame of mind that Grace Cunningham sat down at the desk in her room to check instant messenger and read her e-mails. When she saw the reply from Leslie, her heart felt like it stopped beating. It was hard to get air. She read it a total of three times before she could begin to sort out the myriad of feelings that washed over her. Doubt, confusion, panic, disappointment…anger. The anger pooled in her belly and saturated her chest. Parents were supposed to love you unconditionally!
