“Come in. Your daughter’s in the kitchen,” Katie said, stepping aside in the narrow hallway. “Sitting across from the man who made a mess of her life—and mine, and my brother’s, and even the dog’s, and he’s not technically family.” Her grandfather gave her a rueful little smile and stepped inside.
From the hallway, Katie heard her mother gasp and Frank start in with his usual bluster. But the moment he recognized the famous journalist, he seemed to shrink in his chair. He still muttered, but the swagger was gone. The next day, Leonard left town. Two days later, a pair of uniformed men came to the apartment and escorted Frank out.
He didn’t put up a fight. Susan cried quietly, while Katie thought with grim satisfaction that he was finally going where he belonged.
To a treatment facility, where he would undergo psychiatric evaluation and rehab.
Only then did everyone finally admit what should have been obvious long before: Frank needed professional help. Two days before prom, while Katie was at Mrs. Olsen’s trying on the finished dress, her mother called. “Your grandfather phoned. He said to start packing. He’ll be here for us in a week.”
“Why?” Katie asked, still staring at her reflection in the mirror. “Because it’s time. We’re moving to the city for good.”
“You were the one who never wanted to change anything,” Katie said, a smile tugging at her mouth. “I just want to live, Katie. I finally want a real life.”
As Katie left the seamstress’s house and headed home, she ran into Mason again. “So what are your plans for the summer?” he asked, stopping beside her as usual. “Where are you applying?”
