As she continued driving toward her homecoming, Priscilla did not doubt that each of her sisters—Ellen included—shared a special fondness for their father. Still, she thought, Ellen had found it a bit more difficult to come around because of the forced adoption of her child. Besides, being the eldest, she never quite let go of her own birth father. But Priscilla was certain that Ellen did regret not being able to join the others for Christmas. And Nelson knew she loved him, for they had grown even closer during his visit to her home the previous summer. But on this particular Christmastime, Ellen was working feverishly to help her husband with his Bay area real estate business. She had also taken over management of his family’s group home for high-achieving men with developmental disabilit
