Ben stood up when I entered the waiting room, still all movement and agitated anxiety.
“Is she okay?” he asked. “Did you leave him with her?”
“They needed some time to talk, alone.”
“What do you think of him? Do you trust him?”
I sat down slowly, wary of sliding off the shiny upholstery. “Not completely, but I trust him in the things that matter.”
Ben sat down reluctantly, rubbing his fingers back and forth across the same spot on his jeans until I thought he’d make fire.
“I always wondered why mom didn’t want me to re-paint my room,” he said.
“Tell me it’s not still nursery-colored.”
“No, but I was twelve years old before she let me change it. Good thing I never had that many friends over.”
I suddenly felt Renee’s purse vibrating. No, wait, my purse was vibrating. I would be in a
