And in my mother’s eyes, Carl still had a lot to make up for.

I blinked, readjusted the purse on my shoulder, and stalled to give my brain time to come back up to speed. “I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.” All I could think about was getting answers from him. “But I’ve gotta go.”

“Okay.” My mom brightened. “Have fun.”

As I opened the door and trudged through it, the voice in my mind whispered back it was highly doubtful.

During the drive over, I attempted to organize my thoughts on what I should say. Should I mention the meeting with my mom and see if he’d come...