The Arrangement [Box Set] Read Online Free PDF Page B

let them go. It wasn’t like she would never see them again, she could see them every weekend if she wanted, but she already knew that things would never be the same for any of them again. The school would be their home from now on. That’s how it was with those schools. They were cold and harsh but ultimately they gave children what they needed to succeed in the world and become strong, determined people. And maybe that was more important to her girls that what she could give them.
    She knew though that she would never really be able to forgive herself for the decision she was making that night. There was no point arguing with Walter, he’d do whatever the firm told him to, but she still had choices. She could take the children from their bed right now and make a run for it, take them to a place where she’d always be with them and be able to care for them, but was there really a place like that? And would they even thank her for doing it. She’d be taking them away from everything money could buy, all the comfort and security in the world, just so that they could drift from motel to boarding house to motel for the rest of their childhoods. She’d take them away from all of this just so that they’d have the childhood she’d had.
    No. She knew she wouldn’t do it. She wasn’t even certain she could do it, not with the security at the gate and her without a car now. And then there was the firm. Walter had all sorts of connections. She didn’t stand a chance going up against people like that. Walter would take her to court and win custody and then she’d never see them at all.
    Even if she could, she knew in heart that she didn’t have the strength to go up against Walter. She’d have to do what he wanted and that was the end of the matter.
    She told herself it was for the best, and that she had no right to take this opportunity away from them. And it would be a while still before they had to start school. And there’d be weekends and holidays and she’d make it up to them during those times. She’d make sure they knew she loved them and that she would always be there for them. And then she cried till the sky reddened with the first blush of dawn.
    In the morning her eyes were swollen and red but she did her best to clean herself up and look her best for the new day. She had a job to do, and that was to be the wife and mother that Walter expected her to be, and she was going to do it.

X
    A PRIL SLEPT THROUGH MOST OF SATURDAY. Walter spent the day showing the girls around the new neighborhood. There were trails in the forest and he took them for a little hike. Then he drove them into town for lunch and they came back with ice creams.
    When they got home April bathed them and dressed them. They were all invited to the Prentiss’s for dinner.
    When the children were ready she set them down in front of a movie while she got herself ready. She felt an enormous pressure to look good, especially since the other wives would be there tonight and would no doubt be judging her.
    It wasn’t just Walter who’d been made partner she realized, but she had two. While Walter would have to prove himself in the office, she would have to do the same here, in this privileged miniature community of four families.
    She wondered what the women spent their time doing. They’d all sent their kids away to school and now they were grown up. Maybe they worked. Maybe she’d get back into photography. She’d just been making a name for herself when she met Walter and she was sure she’d be able to get in touch with some of her old clients.
    Maybe sending the girls away to school was just what she needed. She felt guilty as soon as she had the thought but there were many wealthy women who weren’t occupied full-time with raising their children. The fact was, it did open up a whole world of new opportunities that she’d thought she’d closed off to herself.
    Somehow though, she doubted that the wives worked. They probably busied