Chapter 4 - The Blue House
Six weeks after the funeral, Clara drove a borrowed van across town to deliver flowers for a housewarming party.
The address led her to a newly renovated blue house with white shutters, a wide front porch, and a silver car parked in the driveway.
Balloons were tied to the mailbox.
A banner hung above the porch.
Welcome Home, Daniel.
Clara remained behind the steering wheel, unable to breathe.
Through the front window, she saw her mother arranging food on a dining table. Her father opened a bottle of champagne. Daniel stood beside the fireplace, smiling as guests admired the room.
Clara checked the address again.
Then she stepped out of the van.
Her mother saw her first.
The color disappeared from her face.
“Clara,” she said, hurrying onto the porch. “Why are you here?”
“I’m delivering flowers.”
Daniel came outside.
His smile vanished when he saw her.
Clara looked at the house.
“When did you buy this?”
Daniel glanced at their parents.
Her father came through the doorway slowly.
“It’s complicated.”
“How much?”
No one answered.
Clara walked past them into the house. On the kitchen counter, beneath a set of gift cards, lay a folder from a title company.
Her hands shook as she opened it.
The purchase price was four hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
The down payment had been one hundred thousand.
The transfer had been completed three days after Clara’s final call asking for help.
She looked at her parents.
“You said you had nothing.”
Her mother stepped closer.
“Daniel needed stability.”
“Lily needed surgery.”
“That is not fair,” her mother snapped. “The situations were different.”
Clara turned to Daniel.
“Did you know?”
He opened his mouth.
That hesitation was enough.
“You knew,” she said.
“I didn’t know how serious it was.”
“I called you from the hospital.”
“Mom said you were raising the money.”
Clara stared at him.
“And you believed that made this acceptable?”
Daniel looked away.
Her mother reached for Clara’s arm.
Clara pulled back.
“Do not touch me.”
May you like
She placed the title folder on the counter.
Then she walked out of the blue house and never entered it again.
