CHAPTER 10: Noah Asks the Wrong Question

Noah tugged on Mara's sleeve. 'Is he the dad who did not come?'
The question crossed the lobby like broken glass.
Mara crouched in front of him, protecting him from the faces leaning toward their pain. 'He did not know where we were.'
'But you cried on birthdays.'
Adrian closed his eyes.
Mara's hand went still against Noah's shoulder. She had prepared documents, witnesses, legal traps, and calm answers. She had not prepared for a six-year-old to drag private sorrow into the light with perfect innocence.
'Sometimes grown-ups cry because telling the truth takes a long time,' she said.
Noah considered this, then looked at Adrian. 'We have a blue cake every year. Mama says blue was your favorite.'
Adrian had never known grief could arrive as a birthday cake he had never seen.
Serena turned away, irritated by tenderness because it was the one currency she could not counterfeit.