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luck.
    “Hello?”
    “Hi, Mother, it’s me.”
    Eleanor didn’t speak.
    “Mother?”
    “What do you want, Peyton?”
    Peyton willed her voice not to crack. “I’d like to tell you what happened yesterday.”
    “Oh, you don’t have to tell me anything. I know exactly what happened yesterday.”
    Peyton felt a brief stirring of hope. “You do? Did Ashley tell you what I overheard?”
    “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I care even less.” Her mother’s voice sounded so cold Peyton shivered. “You threw away your entire future yesterday when you walked out on Drew. I worked my butt off for you and Ashley, and I must say the two of you don’t appreciate a single thing I’ve done for you. You knew how advantageous it would be for our entire family if you married Drew, but no, you had to let that little business with Megan Thomas ruin your life. That’s what happened yesterday.”
    “Mother, you don’t understand.” Her knuckles turned white as her hand tightened on the phone. “Please, let me tell you what Roberta said.”
    “Go ahead.”
    Peyton told Eleanor what she had overheard in the restroom. “That’s why I didn’t marry him. He didn’t want me at all. Megan was his first choice. He only married me because his father told him he had to.”
    “Am I supposed to feel bad about that? You could have had the world, and you threw it away. I always thought you were smarter than that, but I guess I was wrong. What do you intend to do now?”
    Peyton shut her eyes as if by doing so she could stop her mother’s hurtful words. “I’ll get a job.”
    “How nice. You can be a member of the working class.”
    “I have a college degree in accounting!”
    “So you do,” Eleanor agreed. “When do you intend to move your things out of the house?”
    Peyton took a deep breath. “I…thought I’d stay with you until I found a job.”
    Eleanor laughed for the first time. “I don’t think so. Manage your own life. You didn’t like the path I chose for you, so you’re on your own. Do whatever you like.”
    “Mother…”
    Eleanor hung up the phone. “How could you?” Peyton cried. “What kind of parent are you? Didn’t you ever love Ashley and me?”
    A stealthy noise coming from the bathroom dried the tears in her eyes. Someone was hiding in there. “Who’s there?” she sharply queried. “I know you’re in there, so come on out.”
    The door slowly opened, squealing like a banshee. Annie came into the bedroom with head lowered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I brought you some soap. You had the ordinary stuff in your bathroom, but I thought you’d like this nice French milled soap like mine. I would have told you I was in there, but truthfully, I hoped you’d leave the room.” She sniffed. “I didn’t want you to know I overheard your conversation.”
    She looked so contrite Peyton forgave her on the spot. “Oh, it’s okay. I don’t guess it’s a big secret or anything. My mother’s a little … complicated.”
    Annie smoothly crossed over to the big wing chair in front of the fireplace and sat down. “Your mother sounds a little bit like my dad. It’s a shame, isn’t it?”
    “It sure is. How can she act this way? I wouldn’t marry the man she picked, so she kicked me out of the house even though he was a low down, dirty cheater.”
    Annie smoothed a wrinkle in her apron. “As you pointed out, you’ve been to college. You can take care of yourself just fine.”
    “Of course I can,” Peyton cried. “That isn’t the problem. The problem is that she’s my mother, and in spite of the way she’s treated me, I love her. I don’t want to be on the outs with her.”
    Annie studied her face. “You’re a nice person. After I left home I never wanted to see my father again.”
    “Oh, don’t get me wrong; I’m mad at her, but…” Peyton absently rubbed at a spot on her blouse where Reggie had slobbered on her. “Well, she did have a hard time