Condemn Me Not Read Online Free PDF

today.”
    “And
I pay my nanny for what—watching television while my dear husband takes care of
the child?  Cleans the house?”  Simone scoffed, turning her face toward the
windshield.  “Someone better fire the housekeeper.  Apparently she’s been
robbing me blind.”
    Claire
braked fully for the final stop before they arrived at her house.  She centered
on Simone and decided enough was enough.  She was tired of Simone’s
self-righteous sarcasm.  Simone acted as though she alone carried the family
and Mitchell didn’t lift a finger to help.  But he deserved credit.  A lot.  “Look,
you couldn’t do everything you do without Mitchell and I’m not talking about
the dishes.  I’m talking Mariah.  He’s your lifeline to her and you know it.”
    She
turned on Claire.  “ My what ?”
    “You
heard me.  He’s the reason you two have a relationship to speak of, and he’s
the reason Mariah’s as smart and well-adjusted as she is—because he was there
when you weren’t able to be.”
    Simone
barked out a laugh.  “Then Mitchell should be fired!  His daughter has turned
into a disrespectful brat who runs to him when Mommy Dearest says no to her
childish whims.  Not to mention that dropping out of college doesn’t speak very
highly of her intelligence.”
    Claire
pushed back into her seat and said quietly, “You never did appreciate what it
means to stay home for your child.”
    “I
still don’t.”
    Damn
her . 
Simone had grated on her last nerve and Claire refused to tolerate another
second.  “At least my child is going to college.”
    “Halfway
around the world.”  Simone grunted in retort.  “Looks like staying home didn’t
endear her to you any more than my working did for Mariah.”
     
    # # #
     
    Claire
slammed the plastic grocery bags down onto the Formica, the corner of one
splitting open.  Damn Simone.  Nothing drove a wedge between them quicker than
a disagreement on how to raise their children, but damn her for being so
hateful.  She always considered herself superior because she worked.  She had never
approved of Claire’s choice to stay home.  And Mitchell.  Claire slung the
purse from her shoulder and smacked it down alongside the groceries.  The man
deserved a lot of credit, yet his wife refused to give him any.  As though his
job was to see that her job was made possible.  Because it was her right
to pursue her career and have children.
    And
Mariah?  Why did Simone bother to have the child if she wasn’t going to stay
home and raise her?  Why bring her into this world, only to have someone else
raise her?  Why did either of them?  Locked rigid in place, Claire stared
across her kitchen.  The matte yellow walls, the maple cabinets, the
countertops honey brown and host to a variety of small appliances, knickknacks,
and a stack of mail she’d piled to one end, revealing her procrastination day
by day.  This was her domain.  This was her job.
    Mitchell
was by no means a stay-at-home dad, but his contribution around the house, his willingness
to take the reins with Mariah deserved respect.  But it was their nanny of more
than a decade who spent the bulk of time with Mariah.  She toted Mariah to
school and back, prepared her lunch in the morning, sat with her during sports
activities, birthday parties and the like.  It was the nanny who remained glued
to Mariah’s side—when the child wasn’t at their home, that is.  Mariah and
Rebecca spent a lot of time together and through the years, Claire had come to
feel like she had two daughters.  Two girls joined at the hip, and she was
proud of them both, regardless of their recent bombshell.
    Claire
sank a hip to the counter and held onto the beveled edge.  Her thoughts
migrated from Mariah to Rebecca as she stared blankly out the window.  Nothing
but a sheet of white, the sky held no intrigue, no appeal.  No answers.  It was
nothing but another icy spring afternoon.
    Unlike
Paris, where charm