Part 26 (1/2)

”Like the clock on his wall.”

”Like that.” He looked at the floor, withdrawing into a world of memory. ”I loved that music box. I'd sit for hours winding it up, watching the figures move, listening to the music until it ran down, then winding it up again. She didn't let me have it all the time. It was a special treat. But I loved- it, boy, did I love it. It represented”-he struggled for the words-”freedom, I guess. It stood for a world beyond mine. I used to bug her to let me play with it-I mean really bug her, throw wicked tantrums.” He took in a deep breath, released it sadly. ”That was how it happened.”

”What?” Chelsea whispered. He looked her in the eye.

”One of my tantrums made her so angry she threw a tantrum of her own and ran off into town with the key. I never saw it again, not until you came here.”' ”But why did she do that?” Chelsea asked. It would take time for the fact of Katie being her mother, too, to sink in. She still felt a distance and now, on Hunter's behalf, an anger. ”She said I didn't deserve to play the music box. She said she wanted ” to have something and that it was only fair that if I had the music box, ” should have the key. From that day on, the music box was mine.”

”But you couldn't use it without the key.”

”Right.” He leaned against the counter, crossed his ankles, and tucked his hands under his arms. ”I really went wild after that. I threw a tantrum that lasted for days. I refused to eat. I refused to talk. I refused to read or write or do any of the things' 556 The Pa.s.sitons of Cheap” asne she'd taught me.” He looked away. ”She got depressed then. I mean, she'd always been a little loony. She used to carry on conversations with herself. I thought it was normal. But when she got depressed, she talked nonstop to herself, rocking in her chair, staring at me. She thought I was messed up, and she blamed herself.” Chelsea moved closer to Judd. She clasped his hand when it came around her waist. ”Are you saying she committed suicide?”

”No.” He looked resigned. ”I'm saying that she pretty much gave up the fight. She went into a kind of trance, a constant murmuring to herself.

She got up from the chair, one of her legs folded under her, she fell and hit her head on the edge of the table, and that was it.”

”Oh, Hunter,” Chelsea breathed. He was the one her heart went out to, far more so than Katie. He had only been a child, a child who was totally unprepared to face the real world. Leaving Judd's side, she went to him and grasped the forearms that crossed his chest. ”I'm sorry you had to go through that alone.” He shrugged. ”I survived. I told you once it wasn't all bad. She loved me.” He paused. ”She drew pictures of me all the time. Some of the early ones look just like Abby. I'll show them to you sometime. And her quilts. They're in the chest with her drawings, the drawings you cried over.” Chelsea was about to cry again when he said in a heartrending voice, ”I wouldn't have let anything happen to Abby. She's my flesh and blood, too.” Chelsea smiled and nodded. Her throat was tight. He cleared his. ”So. Now that you know he's your father, what are you going to do about it?” 557 Harbom Degnsky Katie.

She got it from Oliver, who got it from Zee, who brought it from Italy.”

”Like the clock on his wall.”

”Like that.” He looked at the floor, withdrawing into a world of memory. ”I loved that music box. I'd sit for hours winding it up, watching the figures move, listening to the music until it ran down, then winding it up again. She didn't let me have it all the time. It was a special treat. But I loved, it, boy, did I love it. It represented”-he struggled for the words-”freedom, I guess. It stood for a world beyond mine. I used to bug her to let me play with it-I mean really bug her, throw wicked tantrums.” He took in a deep breath, released it sadly. ”That was how it happened.”

”What?” Chelsea whispered. He looked her in the eye. ”One of my tantrums made her so angry she threw a tantrum of her own and ran off into town with the key.

I never saw it again, not until you came here.”' ”But why did she do that?” Chelsea asked. It would take time for the fact of Katie being her mother, too, to sink in. She still felt a distance and now, on Hunter's behalf, an anger. ”She said I didn't deserve to play the music box. She said she wanted ” to have something and that it was only fair that if I had the music box, ” should have the key. From that day on, the music box was mine.”

”But you couldn't use it without the key.”

”Right.”

He leaned against the counter, crossed his ankles, and tucked his hands under his arms. ”I really went wild after that. I threw a tantrum that lasted for days. I refused to eat. Irefused to talk. I refused to read or write or do any of the things 556 The rawons Of QM*W9 KMW she'd taught me.” He looked away. ”She got depressed then. I mean, she'd always been a little loony. She used to carry on conversations with herself. I thought it was normal. But when she got depressed, she talked nonstop to herself, rocking in her chair, staring at me. She thought I was messed up, and she blamed herself.” Chelsea moved closer to Judd.

She clasped his hand when it came around her waist. ”Are you saying she committed suicide?”

”No.” He looked resigned. ”I'm saying that she pretty much gave up the fight. She went into a kind of trance, a constant murmuring to herself. She got up from the chair, one of her legs folded under her, she fell and hit her head on the edge of the table, and that was it.”

”Oh, Hunter,” Chelsea breathed. He was the one her heart went out to, far more so than Katie. He had only been a child, a child who was totally unprepared to face the real world. Leaving Judd's side, she went to him and grasped the forearms that crossed his chest. ”I'm sorry you had to go through that alone.” He shrugged. ”I survived. I told you once it wasn't all bad. She loved me.” He paused.