"I know it. We'll make sure he's not. I'll only be a minute."
anna took her through the conversation twice. As she went through it the
second time, Grace found herself unable to sit. She rose, leaving her
glass of wine half full, and got a broom.
"The way she said things was every bit as vile as what she said," she
told Anna as she began to sweep. "She must use that same tone on Seth. I
don't know how anyone can speak to a child that way." Then she shook her
head. "But she doesn't think of him as a child. He's a thing to her."
"If you were called on to testify, you'd be able to swear under oath
that she demanded money."
"More than once," Grace agreed. "Will it come to that, Anna? Will you
have to take Seth into court?"
"I don't know. If it heads in that direction, we should be able to add
extortion to the list of charges you reeled off. You must have scared
her," she added with a small, satisfied smile. "You'd have scared me."
"Things just come flying out of my mouth when I get worked up."
"I know what you mean. There are things I'd like to say to her, but in
my position, I can't. Or I shouldn't," she said with a long sigh. "I'll
type this up for Seth's file, then I suppose I'll have to compose
another letter to her."
"Why?" Grace's fingers tightened on the handle of the broom. "Why do you
have to have any contact with her?"
"Cam and his brothers need to know, Grace. They need to know exactly
what Gloria DeLauter and Seth were to Ray."
"It's not what some people are saying." Grace's eyes flashed as she
yanked a dustpan out of the broom closet. She couldn't seem to sweep
away the simmering anger inside her. "Professor Quinn wouldn't have
cheated on his wife. He was devoted to her."
"They need to have all the facts, and so does Seth."
"I'll give you a fact. Professor Quinn had taste. He wouldn't have
looked twice at a woman like Gloria DeLauter--unless it was with pity,
or disgust."
"Cam certainly feels the same way. But another thing people say is that
when they look at Seth they see Ray Quinn's eyes."
"Well, there's another explanation for it, that's all." Her own eyes
were hot as she shoved the broom and dustpan away, yanked out a bucket
and a mop.
"Perhaps. But it may have to be faced and dealt with that the Quinns hit
a rocky patch in their marriage, as people often do. Extramarital
affairs are distressingly common."
"I don't give a damn about all the statistics you hear on television or
read in magazines about how three out of five men--or whatever it
is--cheat on their wives." Grace dumped cleanser in the bucket, dropped
it into the sink, and turned the water on full blast. "The Quinns loved
each other, and they liked each other. And they had an admiration for
each other. You couldn't be around them and not see it. They were tied
only tighter together because of their sons. When you saw the five of
them together, you were seeing family. Just the way the five of you are
family."
Touched, Anna smiled. "Well, we're working on it."