“He- he left? You mean, he abandoned them?” Theo looked at Beck, astonished.

“Yep.” replied Beck grimly. “Up and left, out of the blue, on Mandy’s birthday. It was terrible, she cried for days…”

“But what does that have to do with Mandy’s mom?”

“Well, their relationship just got way worse from there…I think, and this is just my opinion, but I think that Mandy’s mom was sort of jealous that her husband was closer to Mandy than he was to her, and when he left, it was just like another betrayal- and she’s never gotten over it. Neither has Mandy, mind.”

Theo whistled. “That’s pretty intense… poor Mandy…”

Beck glanced at him as she turned down her own street. “Poor Mandy? Whoa, is Theo MacDonnell, legendary sarcasm master, actually feeling sorry for little Mandy? This is a monumental day.”

“Shut up, Beck. I’ll tell Cy on you.”

Beck gasped. “You wouldn’t!”

Theo shrugged. “Well….”