Before he left, I gave him a copy of the loan statement. I said Geraldine would contact both borrowers to discuss bringing the account current under its actual terms. I would not surprise them with a demand the agreement didn’t support, but I would no longer turn every missed payment into a gift through silence.
Theo put it in his coat. “Can I still bring Poppy on Saturday?”
“If she wants to come, yes. She isn’t collateral.”
He flinched, which told me he had been afraid I would use her the way everyone else seemed prepared to use money.
Camille called the next morning before I could invite her over. Theo had told her. Her voice had the unnaturally measured tone I had heard her use with a difficult restaurant manager.
“I think there has been a misunderstanding.”
“Then we should discuss it in person.”
“Geraldine contacted the managing partner. Do you understand how that looks?”
“She is my attorney. She is making sure the relevant people have accurate information about my involvement and that we respect the boundaries around it.”
“Why now?”
“Because last week you asked my son to remove me before your important guests saw me.”
She drew a sharp breath. “I was referring to the situation. The food, the timing—”
“You called me an embarrassment.”
“Can we please not repeat the wording?”
“It’s the wording you chose.”
We agreed to meet in Geraldine’s office. I wanted neither my kitchen nor Camille’s to become a courtroom in which hospitality could be mistaken for surrender. Geraldine said she would attend only to keep the business and loan questions clear; she was not a family mediator.
Camille arrived with Theo. She wore a dark suit and carried a slim leather portfolio. I noticed her glance at the receptionist’s greeting when the woman called me Mrs. Voorhees with familiarity. All those years, Camille had thought I was unfamiliar with the rooms she wanted to enter. Now she was discovering people in them knew me.
“I owe you an apology,” she said as soon as we sat down.
“For what?”
Her eyes flicked to Geraldine. “For speaking thoughtlessly at the party.”
“You didn’t know I heard you. That isn’t the same as being thoughtless.”
Theo shifted beside her. “Camille.”
She looked at him, and something in her prepared manner cracked.
“I was anxious about the Hendersons,” she said. “He chairs a committee that matters to the firm. His wife knows everyone. I had everything planned, and then you arrived with a casserole.”
“You invited me.”
“I know.”
“Did you think I would stay upstairs with Poppy?”
Her silence answered. Theo turned toward her.
“You told me she wanted to come early to help.”
“I thought she would be comfortable with something to do.”
