Read The War of the Roses: The Children for Free Online Page A

heritage.”
    â€œAll of it was part of our heritage, Evie.”
    She was right, of course. But he saw it more as that other heritage of pain and loss. It was their bond and their agony. He could never erase the memory of Evie and him standing together, arms around each other in the morning rain, looking into that grave that was swallowing their yesterdays. Despite all their parents’ flaws, they knew that they had been loved beyond judgment and reservation. To lose that, Josh had discovered, was the greatest loss of all.
    â€œI just wanted to tell you so that you wouldn’t be surprised when you found it gone, and to apologize,” she said. “I know how you disapproved of me selling all the other things.”
    â€œThat’s not what I disapproved of, Evie. It was giving so much of the proceeds to your friends.”
    â€œMy boyfriends, you mean. But they gave me such pleasure. They deserved it.”
    He suspected then that her latest, Alfred, had either left or given notice. He calculated that Alfred, a pleasant man who sold furniture at Bloomingdales, had been with her four years, sparing Josh the worry of her well-being.
    â€œAlfred’s gone, isn’t he, Evie?”
    â€œA lovely man.” She took another bite of the jelly doughnut and gracefully removed an errant crumb from her upper lip. “Yes, he’s moved to Florida. Hates the weather here.”
    â€œWhy don’t you join him there, Evie?”
    â€œYou know how heat affects me. I’m perfectly content where I am. I’ll find another beau, Josh. No need to worry about your little Evie.”
    â€œEasier said than done,” he sighed.
    â€œSuch a dear brother,” Evie said, caressing Josh’s arm with a pudgy hand.
    â€œI hope you get a good price for the bed,” Josh said, patting her hand. “But please, Evie, you must be more careful with your money. It doesn’t last forever.”
    â€œI wish I was as good a manager as Victoria,” she mused.
    â€œA tall order, Evie. I don’t know what I’d do without her.” Victoria handled every detail of their finances.
    â€œI just wanted you to know about the Chippendale bed, Josh dear,” Evie said, polishing off the last of the doughnuts. He felt heartsick. Food might, by Evie’s lights, be love, but it was also her assassin.
    He got up and kissed her on both cheeks.
    â€œGive my deepest love to Victoria and the children,” she said.
    He turned away, barely able to contain his tears.
    ***
    Although he knew Victoria awaited him with bottled-up emotion, she showed sensitivity and understanding about the pressure of his job. From the beginning, they had scrupulously analyzed their roles and apportioned their labors accordingly. Every move was carefully considered with a view, always, to preserve and enhance their relationship as a married couple, then as parents. They had committed themselves to the concept of a family, a family fortress, each member interdependent on the other.
    Both had acted contrary to their expectations. Josh’s fear of entanglement stemmed from the awfulness of his parents’ demise. For his parents—for reasons he would never understand—terror had replaced tranquility and hate had replaced love. They had turned on each other like predators over carrion, causing a bizarre mutual death scene. The weapon had been, of all things, a crystal chandelier. He could never ever look at a crystal chandelier without a chilling reaction.
    Until Victoria came into his life, Josh did not think it possible that he would ever overcome his reluctance to risk marriage. He and Victoria considered it a miraculous irony that both of them were blindsided by attraction strong enough to erase their unwillingness to find a mate.
    Contrary to what was now politically correct, Victoria had given up her law practice when Michael was born. By then, Victoria had eschewed morally ambivalent negligence law