Chapter 9 — An Apology Waiting to Happen
Abigail stepped closer to the two of them.
The sound of her shoes scuffed softly against the clean kitchen tiles.
She paused just a few feet away from where Caleb sat kneeling on the floor.
Her face remained pale in the bright morning light.
She looked down at the dark stain of orange juice on the floor.
Then she looked back up at her granddaughter.
Abigail took a slow, deliberate breath.
Her shoulders visibly dropped as the heavy realization settled over her.
She acknowledged aloud that she rushed to judgment too quickly.
“I am sorry, Chloe,” Abigail said.
Her voice sounded strained and choked with sudden regret.
“I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”
She shook her head slowly.
“I didn’t even stop to look at the refrigerator.”
“I just assumed the worst.”
Chloe rested her head against her father’s shoulder.
She slowly turned her face away from her grandmother.
Chloe looked up from her father’s shoulder to meet her grandmother’s softened gaze.