"I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to oversleep, but I didn't sleep that well, and…"
Ava groaned at my frantic explanation.
"Just sit, Lorelei," Daddy said, nodding at the sofa. Marla moved over a little to make more room for me. I looked up at him with anticipation. Mrs. Fennel was staring ahead as if she were lost forever in a trailing thought. She didn't blink. Not a muscle moved in her face. For a moment, I thought her face was shattering and crumbling away.
"All right now," Daddy continued, stepping closer to us. "Ava knows most of what I am going to tell you about all this. Normally, I would wait with both of you until your time had come, but…"
"But this is the first time we've been attacked at home," Mrs. Fennel added, looking impatient.
"Exactly," Daddy said. "He was quite emboldened."
"It's her fault," Ava muttered, nodding in my direction. "She must not have ended it sharply and firmly enough."
