Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
“It's a little... dreary, now that you mention it.”
For once, she's being diplomatic. “It was a lot worse then. For one thing, back when the factories were open and people were working, there was always smoke in the air. There would be soot on every surface. You couldn’t open your windows on breezy days if you didn't want the house filled with that shit. Nonetheless, it got worse when they started to close down, when the companies started moving. Then, people were out of work. Dreary? That would have been a vacation. It was bleak, sad, and depressing. Families started leaving to look for work elsewhere, so more and more houses were left empty. Those houses got boarded up at best or squatted in otherwise. It sort of snowballed.”
“Wow.” For once, she doesn't have a snarky comeback. A glimpse of her troubled face reveals how serious she's taking this. I guess I never expected her to take anything I say seriously, not when she’s lived the life she always has, with every single want and desire within reach.
She turns, using a hand to shade her eyes from the midday sun. “Everything still looks closed down over there,” she points, gazing at the factory and refinery, among other buildings less than a mile away. When I was a kid, I used to think there was a castle out there. What did I know?
“That’s because it is closed.”
“But things have gotten better around here—so it seems from what you've described.”
“Well, a lot of money has been pumped into the area.” I raise an arm, pointing to a long, brick building on the other side of the playground we've passed. “Like that rec center. That was built maybe two years ago so kids would have somewhere to go and something to do besides cause trouble.”
It surprises me how she falls silent, and I welcome the silence after days of questioning. It's not until we've walked another block and come to a stop in roughly the middle of a line of row homes that she turns to me. “I don't get it.”
“Don't get what?”
“How did you know that about the rec center? If you haven't been back in all these years. Do you keep in touch with people around here?”
If there's one thing I've always known about her, it's that she's not stupid. She might make incredibly shitty decisions, but then again, most people do no matter how intelligent they are, but under those blonde curls is a very sharp mind. She gets that from her father. “I haven't kept in touch, although your father has.”
Her head snaps back like she's been struck. “Pardon me?”
“Your father’s kept in touch with people around here. Rather, he's reached out to figure out what the community needs, and he's put money into a lot of projects. That industrial complex back there? It will be redeveloped into housing and shopping and whatever else the developers can come up with.”
“Okay, wait. I don't get it. Why would he do that?”
Slowly, I turn to look at one of the houses. There's nothing more than a small patch of grass in front of it, next to a short set of concrete steps leading to the front door. “These houses here? They were all built for the workers at the mill, the factory, and the refinery. That's what this town was. Everybody worked in the same places, and the bosses got the bigger homes closer to the businesses.” I nodded toward the house we were standing in front of. “And that is the house your father grew up in.”
I can count on one hand the number of times I've watched someone's mouth fall open in legitimate shock. Count that number five. Tatum’s green eyes widen with surprise, and she stares at the house like she's finally seeing it rather than waiting for us to move on.
I give her a minute to absorb her surprise before continuing. “You've always wanted to know how I ended up with your family. Now you know. Our parents grew up together. I never met your father until the night he came and took me from this place, but my mom remembered him. I guess they stayed in touch once he left.”
“I had no idea. Absolutely no idea.” She blinks rapidly, sputtering. “I knew he didn’t grow up rich, but… it’s so tiny.”
“And it was in worse shape when he lived here—hell, it was in worse shape than when I did, but he put money into improving the block. It might’ve been the first block he focused on. The money he poured in meant jobs for contractors, too.”
“I didn’t… I mean, I never…” She blows out a frustrated sigh. “I didn’t think he ever did good things with his money.”
“Now you know. He’s never been showy about it. He doesn’t want anybody to know, but this is one of his side projects, I guess you could say, and he let me oversee some of the funding and sort of manage the projects on our end.”