29

“You need to tell Dad the truth,” Will insisted. He couldn’t back down simply because of his mother’s tears. “You can’t afford not to.”

Ava swiped at her overflowing eyes. “If I do, it may change everything for our family.” She adjusted her position on the velvet couch in their living room.

“Mom, it already has. It did when Sean was born. He’s the proof of that change. Don’t you see?” His frustration mounted. “It’s not if you should tell Dad, it’s when you should. Do you really want him to find out from someone else?”

She wept. “I wish I had the courage.”

“But Mom, you do,” he said gently. “You’ve always had it. You’ve only lost track of it for the moment. I know you. You’ll find it again.”

Sean was waterlogged from head to toe, and his favorite Nikes were ruined, but it no longer mattered. The shoes squished as he headed toward what looked like a busier street.

Once there, he flagged down a cab.

“Bad night,” the cabbie proclaimed as Sean opened the door and slid into the backseat.

You have no idea, Sean thought. Aloud he said, “Yup.”

“Where to?” the effusive driver asked.

“Just start driving, and I’ll tell you.” He waved the cabbie onward.

Now he knew exactly where he was, where he must go, and what he had to do.

Sarah awoke with a start at 1:30 a.m., as if someone had poked her with a sharp object. She was sweating.

Must have been a bad dream, she mused. But she couldn’t remember one.

Or perhaps the spicy Indian curry she’d had for a late dinner was making her pay. It was all Sean’s fault. He’d introduced her to that restaurant four years ago and insisted she try that dish. One bite and she was hooked. Every once in a while she had to have some.

“Okay, Sean,” she announced aloud when she still couldn’t go back to sleep 20 minutes later, “it’s payback. This time you’re the one who’s going to get a wake-up call.” She grinned as she hit his speed-dial number.