27When Loreley entered the Upper East Side home, her mother welcomed her as if she hadn't seen her for goodness knows how long, whereas they had been together only the previous evening.
During that visit, Loreley had noticed an improvement in her mother’s emotional state, even if there were still times when it took nothing to make her sad, and others when she became angry at the very mention of her father. Thus she had avoided asking her too many questions about the situation.
Despite their being alone in the intimacy of the home, Loreley had made no mention of her personal problems and her mother had followed suit. They had managed to give themselves some carefree hours, which hadn’t happened since she went to live with John.
When she went into the dining room, decked out with gold rib
