Thirty-three:

Thirty-three:

Vera had gotten a plate of cheeses, crackers, meats, and grapes set up for us out on the balcony of the penthouse. Laura poured us glasses of wine. “Does this often happen?” I asked.

“You should know,” said Vera, “you’re one of us.” She popped a grape into her mouth.

I frowned. “My dad was away a lot of the time, usually on the run from whatever horrible thing he’d done. But I was never really part of the life. I tried my hardest to stay out of it until my daughter was born and things…. things became complicated after that.”

Vera smiled at me. “There’s a lot of terrible things that happen in this life. But there’s a lot of good too. For instance, I go to bed every night knowing that my children will never starve and they will always have a roof over their head. Sometimes, something as simple as that is worth the price.”

I thought of Tori. I wanted what was best for her. What would I do to ensure my daughters happiness? I had gone to her father and he was probably the wor