Twenty-Six
My mouth hangs open. Angelica was my mother’s best friend? Once again, it seems I have to adjust the picture I have in my head of my parents’ lives. “But … I thought Zinnia was Mom’s best friend. And you and Linden were friends. You all trained together, and then you worked together, and then you had babies, and everything was peachy up until the day Mom died.”
Dad sighs again. I have a feeling this conversation is going to be full of sighs. “You must know by now that life is never that simple, V. I mean, yes, all of that is true. But Angelica was there too, and she made life a lot more …” He holds his hands up. “I promise I’ll explain everything to you, right from the beginning, but first tell me where you met her and what she said to you.”
“Well, it was a little weird, actu
