No one spoke for a while after that, all of us trying to process exactly what Alex had just said. My dad took a few steps back as if he’d just taken a physical blow, falling defeated, sitting on a chair at the kitchen table. My grandmother’s statue had turned to stone, unwilling to speak, unwilling to look at us. My own eyes were glued to the side of Alex’s face, until he finally turned to look at me. The look on his face was entirely apologetic, and I knew he wished we could have talked about this first, but whatever had happened before he arrived was too important to hold back.
Finally, my grandmother broke the silence, standing from her spot once more. “That’s impossible, Allison’s mother is gone. You must be mistaken,” she shuffled her way to the kitchen, gathering some plates and pre
