Chapter 3 - The Room With the Tall Windows
Daniel waited until Sloane was on a phone call before he went to the sitting room. Oliver sat pressed against Rosa on the sofa, his feet tucked under him. A mug of untouched cocoa cooled on the table.
“Can I sit with you?” Daniel asked.
Oliver shrugged. Daniel sat on the rug rather than taking the chair across from him.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here,” he said.
“You say that a lot.”
Daniel swallowed. “You’re right. I’ll do better, and you can tell me when I don’t.”
Oliver looked down at his hands. “Will you be mad if I tell you something?”
“No.”
“Even if Sloane says I’m lying?”
Daniel felt his stomach tighten. “Even then, I’ll listen.”
Oliver glanced at Rosa, who gave him a small nod. He took a breath.
“She made me stay in the sunroom yesterday. She said I couldn’t come out until I gave her the little key.”
“What key?”
“The one Mommy gave me.” Oliver touched the thin cord beneath his sweater. A tiny brass key hung there. “She said it was just a silly thing and I should give it to her. When I wouldn’t, she shut the door.”
“Was it locked?”
Oliver nodded. “I pushed the handle, but it didn’t open. I called for you. She said you were busy and didn’t want to hear me.”
Julia had given Oliver a keepsake before her final hospital stay and called it a treasure. Daniel had never asked what it opened.
“How long were you in the room?”
“I don’t know. The sun went away from the windows.” Oliver rubbed his sleeve across his nose. “Rosa found me when Sloane went upstairs.”
Rosa’s mouth tightened. “I heard him calling. I used the service key.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Daniel asked, then immediately regretted the question. Rosa’s eyes shone, but she held her voice steady.
Rosa admitted she had tried to tell him, but Sloane threatened her job.
Oliver looked up. “She said if I told you, you’d think I was bad. She said Mommy died because people in our family make trouble.”
Daniel reached for Oliver, stopped to let him choose, and the boy leaned into him.
“I don’t think you’re bad,” Daniel whispered. “Not for crying. Not for missing Mom. Not for telling me the truth.”
A soft click came from the doorway.
May you like
Sloane stood there, holding Daniel’s phone.
“I think,” she said, “we need to discuss what Rosa has been telling him.”
