Chapter 5 - THE WATCH THAT STOPPED AT 8:17
“What decision?”
Violet looked at the silver watch in her palm.
“After Rosie's death, the doctors wanted Glenn to continue seeing a neurologist. Bernice refused to discuss it.”
“Why?”
“Because she was terrified the doctors would find the same condition in him.”
I stared at her.
“She already had one sick child. Why would she take that risk?”
Violet wiped her eyes.
“Because she thought the diagnosis itself had destroyed Rosie's life. Douglas blamed her constantly. He called Rosie defective, Dana. And when she died, he said Bernice had failed to give him healthy children.”
I felt anger rising.
“So Bernice decided to pretend Glenn was healthy?”
“She decided that if his episodes stopped, nobody ever needed to know.”
“Did they stop?”
“For a while.”
Violet turned the watch face toward me.
Its hands were frozen at 8:17.
“Rosie dropped this on the hospital floor during her final emergency. The glass broke. Glenn kept asking why his sister's watch had stopped.”
I swallowed hard.
“Does Glenn know any of this?”
“No. Bernice told him his childhood episodes were fainting spells caused by stress.”
“And you believed that?”
“I wanted to.”
Her admission was quiet but honest.
“I was young, Dana. Bernice had just buried her daughter. I told myself she needed time. Then the years passed, and silence became easier than confronting her.”
I thought about Cooper.
About every appointment Bernice had attended.
About the forms she had filled out.
A woman who knew exactly how frightening seizures could be had deliberately concealed that history from a sick child.
“I'm going to tell Glenn.”
Violet nodded.
“You should. But there's something you need to understand.”
“What?”
“Bernice loved Rosie desperately. That's what makes this so terrible. Somewhere along the way, her fear turned into cruelty.”
I asked whether she had any medical paperwork.
Violet said she possessed only an old family calendar where Bernice had recorded Glenn's episodes.
She promised to look for it.
Before leaving, she placed the watch in my hand.
“Please give this to Glenn when he's ready to listen.”
That afternoon, I went to the bank.
I had opened a small savings account before marrying Glenn. Over the years, I had continued depositing money whenever possible.
There was a little more than seven thousand dollars in it.
It wasn't enough to start over comfortably.
But it was something.
I used part of it to pay the laboratory's deposit and began searching for an apartment near Cooper's school.
Then I received a message from Glenn.
Mom says Aunt Violet is filling your head with lies.
I answered:
Ask your mother why she concealed your childhood medical history.
He responded immediately.
She says I never had epilepsy.
I looked at Rosie's watch.
Then ask her why your neurologist wanted follow-up appointments.
No answer.
That evening, Glenn appeared at Tessa's house.
Tessa answered the door and told him Cooper was sleeping.
He asked to speak with me outside.
For the first time since throwing us out, he looked exhausted rather than angry.
“Mom says Violet has always resented her.”
“Does that explain the photograph?”
“No.”
“The hospital bracelet?”
“No.”
“The repeated episodes?”
He rubbed his forehead.
“Dana, I don't know what to believe anymore.”
I took the watch from my coat pocket.
“Your sister bought this for you.”
Glenn stared at it.
His expression changed completely.
“Where did you get that?”
“Violet kept it.”
He reached for the watch with trembling fingers.
“I remember this.”
He turned it over.
“Rosie told me the R stood for Rosie and the G stood for Glenn. She said that meant we'd always be together.”
Tears filled his eyes.
For a moment, I saw the boy who had lost his sister.
Then I remembered the five-year-old boy who had just lost his father.
“Glenn, Cooper asks about you every day.”
He looked toward the lighted window.
“I miss him.”
“Missing him isn't the same as protecting him.”
He lowered his head.
“I know.”
It was the first time he had admitted any responsibility.
But when I asked whether he would attend Cooper's next medical appointment, he hesitated.
“Mom thinks you're using his illness to manipulate me.”
I stepped back.
“Then you're still letting her make your decisions.”
He looked ashamed.
Before leaving, he agreed to attend the paternity-test appointment.
I watched his car disappear down the street.
Then I returned inside.
Tessa was sitting at the kitchen table with my phone.
“Dana, someone has been trying to reach you.”
“Who?”
“A woman named Lauren Price. She says she knows Glenn.”
My stomach tightened.
Lauren.
The woman Bernice had promised would give Glenn a real family.
I expected another insult.
Instead, Tessa read the message aloud.
Dana, I know you probably hate me. But Bernice told me something about Cooper before Glenn ever accused you of cheating.
May you like
A second message appeared.
And I think she has been planning to get you out of that house for much longer than you realize.
