her hand.
“Mom, please.”
Her mother stopped.
Then Vanessa looked at Grant.
“I didn’t realize you felt that way.”
Grant studied her.
“I’ve tried telling you.”
She nodded slowly.
“I know.”
The admission clearly wasn’t easy for her.
Then she looked at me.
“I’m sorry about the dress.”
I didn’t respond immediately.
She inhaled shakily.
“What I did was cruel.”
Her mother frowned.
“Vanessa.”
Vanessa turned toward her.
“No, Mom. It was.”
Something in the room shifted.
Maybe because it was the first completely honest thing Vanessa had said all
