Bringing Rosie Home. Loree Lough
to a mat. Tina had come right out and admitted she’d told him the same thing, many times.
“It’s the logical way to view the situation,” Rena said. “But when it’s your child, it’s hard not to place blame. Nothing can change the fact that I looked away just long enough to enable the kidnapper. It’s something I’ll have to live with forever. Something I’ll spend the rest of my days trying to atone for.”
“Ah, so you were the only parent chaperone on the field trip?”
“Of course not. There were six, maybe seven moms in all, but they were all looking out for the children assigned to them. I can’t—won’t—blame anyone else.”
“That’s the trouble with self-importance,” the doctor said slowly. “It tends to take a terrible toll on the individual.” She paused then added, “For Rosie’s sake, you need to find another way to deal with your feelings, Mrs. VanMeter.”
Almost word for word what Martha had said. It hadn’t helped then, and it wasn’t helping now.
“If you insist on beating yourself up, you’ll need to find a way to do it in private. Even then, there’s a chance Rosie will pick up on it.”
She turned her attention to Grant again. “And you’ll need to set aside your anger toward Rena, at least in the presence of your daughter. I’m happy to recommend a marriage counselor that you can see in addition to whomever you choose for Rosie.” She raised an eyebrow. “Unless neither of you believes a reconciliation is possible.”
Why had Robson aimed the question at her, instead of Grant? Maybe, Rena thought, because she thinks you’ll give a more straightforward answer...
“I can’t speak for Grant, but I’m certainly not opposed to getting back together. Permanently.” She could feel his eyes on her. Hopefully, her response hadn’t riled him further.
“Grant?” Robson said. “Do you feel the same way?”
“I, ah, well, I guess I’m not totally opposed to it.”
“Do I detect a but in your answer?”
He sat up straighter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Look. Doctor. You said what’s really important is that we set aside our differences, especially in Rosie’s presence. And I agree with that. Is it possible we’ll resolve the marriage problems while we’re faking it?” Yet another shrug. “Who knows? All I can say for sure is that I’ll do anything, anything to help my girl.”
How had he managed to sound surly and nonchalant at the same time? Rena wondered. Faking it. He could have slapped her and it wouldn’t have hurt as much.
Robson turned to another page in the file. “Will you be returning to work, Rena?”
In her opinion, this felt a lot more like an interrogation than a meeting to discuss what was best for Rosie. From the sound of things, Dr. Robson was looking for reasons not to send Rosie home with them.
She chose her words carefully. “No. For the time being, anyway, I have no plans to look for a new job. I want to be available twenty-four seven until I’m sure Rosie is all right, that she has acclimated to all of us being together again. And just so you know, Grant is taking some time off work, too.” She crossed her legs, and tugged at the hem of her skirt. “Agent Gonzalez told us he gave you a letter, written by the kidnapper? That there are things in it Grant and I need to hear?”
“Yes, that’s true. But let’s not rush.”
“Rosie and Rena and I have been apart long enough,” Grant ground out. “I say we cut to the chase, do whatever needs doing to put us together with her, ASAP.”
The doctor walked around to the front of her desk and sat on its corner, tapping an envelope against a heavy wooden nameplate.
“Oh, my,” Rena said. “My hands are shaking so badly, the words will blur.”
“I’m happy to read it aloud, if you like,” Robson said, “but if you’d rather, I’ll give you a few minutes to read it in private.”
Rena met Grant’s eyes. “It’s up to you.”
“Go ahead,” he told the doctor. “Read it. We’ll read it again later. At the hotel.”
She’d already stressed that they’d need to come back in the morning when, after Robson had a chance to observe the threesome and share her expert opinion on how to proceed, they could begin their trip home. Last night, they’d struggled to find things to talk about, and while lovely, the room hadn’t provided a place to escape from awkward silences. At least tonight, they’d have Barbara’s letter to discuss.
The doctor returned to her chair and swiveled to face them, head on.
“As you’ll recall,” Robson said, “Ms. Smith left this letter with her sister, with instructions that it was to be delivered unopened to the authorities in the event of her demise.” She slid the pages from the envelope. “Agent Gonzalez has a copy in his file, as do I. This is the original, and it’s for you.
“I’ve spoken with the sister—and several other close relatives—about this matter. They were horrified to learn what Barbara had done, but they’d never met Rosie—or Ruby, as Barbara called her.”
“How many relatives were there?”
“Just the sister and her grown children. They lived relatively nearby.”
“But they never met her?”
“According to my interviews, they did not.”
“Good. Because...I can't speak for Grant, but I'm not in favor of visiting rights!”
Rena might as well have remained silent for all the attention the doctor paid her comment.
“Her sister told me that Barbara was suicidal after losing her husband and child. Sounds like she suffered survivor’s guilt.”
“Agent Gonzalez told me the drunk driver only got five years? That must have made things tougher,” Grant said.
Robson sniffed. “The man had a good lawyer, for one thing, and it was his first offense, for another. Throw in a sympathetic judge...” She ran a hand across the tidy handwriting that filled the first page of the letter. “I think learning more about her will make it easier for you to understand what she did.”
“Understand? You must be joking!” Rena said. “Nothing you say, and nothing in that letter can make me understand how a person steals someone else’s child. Grant and I lived without Rosie for years because of her. She took a part of us when she took Rosie. Losing her nearly destroyed us, but we didn’t go out and kidnap someone else’s child to ease our pain!”
Rena felt the heat of an angry blush coloring her cheeks. The office grew quiet, so quiet she could hear the steady swish of the pendulum, swaying right and left in the body of Robson’s stately grandfather clock. What was the woman waiting for...her or Grant to say that they’d split up because it seemed less agonizing than holding on to one another?
“While I agree with Rena, we’re not any closer to seeing Rosie, now are we?” Grant pointed out.
“I just want to take a moment to stress how important it is that you’re honest with yourselves. If you aren’t absolutely sure you can present a united front, it’ll be better for Rosie if you sit her down and tell her the truth about your relationship, right away.”
Rena imagined the scene... Rosie, teary-eyed and frightened by the prospect of being shuttled from Grant’s house to hers. “Dr. Robson—”
“Fiona, please.”
After tomorrow, they’d never see her again, so Rena saw no reason to feign a friendly relationship. Except that the doctor might see her reluctance to agree as a character trait that might be damaging to Rosie. She decided to play nice.
“We’ve barely had a chance