Set Me Free Read Online Free Page A

mater,
     Yale, photographic projects like Willa’s were adored. She said even the drawings were to be commended for their clarity. She
     offered to write a glowing recommendation to Yale, and she also wanted Willa to consider RISD and Pratt. But Willa had told
     her New Haven was as far as she could go, and anyway, she knew her father wouldn’t be able to afford it. When Willa’s father
     had promised her they would never leave the white house with the blue shutters, Willa had made her own silent promise: she
     would never
want
to leave. All her life, all she’d wanted was a home. She’d made her father promise her that very thing, and he’d delivered.
     She wasn’t going to need anything more.
    Willa heard the familiar clank and thrum of the ancient Volvo before she saw it. The wind brought it to her early. Her first
     thought was that her father was coming to see the art. Or maybe she’d forgotten her lunch at the house. It had been so long
     since he’d done this that he caught her off guard. Five years before, she would have known what was to come simply from her
     body’s reaction to the sound of his arrival: the sinking of her heart, her fallen shoulders, the mental tallying of which
     friends were close enough to bid goodbye. Already, she would have anticipated the resigned cold of the metal door handle under
     her palm.
    This time she was nothing but surprised. When Nat Llewelynpulled around Tully Hall, he saw sadness shake down his daughter’s body. He saw her limbs become taut, and he couldn’t help
     but remember Caroline. A ball of guilt welled in his throat.
    What Willa didn’t know was that Nat was going to give her a choice this time. He knew what he wanted her to say, because it
     would make things much easier. But he had made a promise. Only a monster wouldn’t give her the choice. And he knew that if
     she didn’t come of her own volition, she would never be able to hear him. She would be too distracted by injustice. He had
     been a fool to keep the truth this long from Caroline’s girl.
    H ELEN
    Brooklyn, New York
Thursday, September 5, 1996
    Helen would tell you that the story began on the Thursday just after Labor Day, when a purple bruise of a cloud was dampening
     the Brooklyn skyline and threatening her daily walk. Her golden retriever, Ferdinand, jangled his leash on the hook beside
     the door and pointed his nose toward her eagerly as she slipped on her sandals, shaking her head.
    “I don’t know how long this is going to hold, Fergus,” she said. “You better make it quick.” She could tell an umbrella would
     be no match for what the dark sky threatened. The maple sapling planted in front of the brownstone bent with the wind, swarmed
     by brittle leaves and city dust. Helen sneezed, just watching. She looked back down at the poor dog wagging his tail.“Five
     minutes,” she said. “We’ll go on a real walk tomorrow.”
    The phone rang, clanging open the quiet house. With a guilty glance at the dog, Helen strode to the side table and picked
     up. “Hello?” She cringed at her own eagerness. It was her first call of the day, and despite her better judgment, she couldn’t
     help hoping it was Duncan. Any sign that he remembered where he lived, where his wife waited for him, was a good sign.
    “Hello hello.” It wasn’t Duncan.
    “Elliot?”
    “Yes! Good to hear your voice, dearest Helen. The face that launched a thousand ships.”
    “Is everything all right?” Elliot Barrow never called. They had spoken on five occasions since that night in 1980 when he
     briefly lost his mind. And ever since then, every time they had spoken, she would worry: has he lost it again? As if he deserved
     her worry. She watched the dog earnestly pointing at the door and wondered at herself. Here, in the midst of terrible sorrow,
     only five exchanges into a conversation, and she was willing—nay, ready—to jump to Elliot’s aid. How did he accomplish this
     so swiftly? She would have to