Amber stared at her.
“You talked to her two years ago?”
“She called me when she retired.”
“She retired?”
“Yes.”
Amber looked genuinely startled.
Ruth studied her.
“You didn’t know?”
“No.”
“Then perhaps you have been less involved in her life than you want us to believe.”
Amber’s face hardened.
Marcus stepped between them slightly.
“Mom.”
Ruth looked at him.
“I am not attacking her.”
Amber laughed.
“You’ve been waiting to do this.”
Ruth’s expression cooled.
“To do what?”
“Make me look like trash in front of him.”
Ruth’s voice remained even.
“Amber, fifteen minutes ago you ordered me to eat in the bathroom.”
Amber’s eyes flashed.
Ruth continued.
“I do not have to manufacture evidence of your behavior.”
Marcus flinched.
Amber stood.
“I’m leaving.”
Marcus said, “No.”
She turned.
“No?”
“You’re going to tell me why you said your mother was dead.”
Amber’s shoulders dropped.
For a long moment, the only sound was the restaurant’s ventilation fan humming beyond the wall.
Then she sat again.
“When I was eighteen, she took money from me.”
Ruth’s expression changed.
Marcus frowned.
“What money?”
“College money.”
