LILA
What is it? I typed back. It looks like a family heirloom.
Even as I sent it, I knew how unconvincing that was. I wasn't trying to be subtle exactly, I was trying to draw something out of him. See how he responded.
My mom would kill me if I touched her jewelry, he replied. I got this on sale. The woman who sold it to me said to give it to someone I cared about.
I looked at the photo again. Part of me wanted to believe I was overreacting, that it was just a necklace with a passing resemblance to something I'd seen online, that the Blackwood connection was coincidence and nothing more. But I couldn't quite convince myself of that, no matter how hard I reached for it.
So I typed: That's sweet. My friend has one like it. She got it from her church.
I set the phone down and watched
