Anneliese was polite with the smoothness of a marble countertop, complimenting my dress while reading the label.

Rockwell rarely spoke unless the subject was property or lenders or board schedules or legacy.

At their table I had always felt like a guest in a house set long before anyone knew I existed.

And now they were on their way to meet the child their son had already decided not to claim — and I understood, sitting there with my daughter, that none of this had begun in that room.

It had been arranged around me for months.