seventy.
“Did she give you a reason?” I asked quietly. “I wouldn’t ask,” I added as his tension level came back up. “But something has happened where Erin was working, and now she’s nowhere to be found.”
“Is she in trouble?”
“I don’t know.”
He thought about that for a minute. “She said there was someone else. ‘A man,’ she said. Like I’m twelve or something.” He shook his head in disgust.
“Did she say who?”
“I didn’t ask. I mean, why should I care? I know she had a thing for her boss, but he’s like fifty or something . . .”
“Did she tell you she was going anywhere? Did she say anything about changing jobs or moving?”
He shook his head.
“She never said anything about going to Ocala?”
“Ocala? Why would she go there?”
“Her boss says she quit her job and moved to Ocala to take another.”
“That’s news to me,” he said. “No. She wouldn’t do that. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Thanks for the info.” I pulled a card from my pocket, my phone number scribbled on it. “If you hear from her, would you call this number and leave a message?”
Chad took the card and stared at it.
I went back to my car and sat at the end of the Seabright driveway for a moment. I looked around the neighborhood. Quiet, lovely, expensive; golfers lining up a tee shot beyond the backyard. The American dream.
I thought about the Seabrights. Well-off, successful; neurotic, contentious, seething with secret resentments. The American dream in a fun house mirror.
I parked on the street in front of the school, the soccer moms and me. I would have felt less out of place in a chorus line. Kids began to pour out the doors and head for the buses or the car-pool line.
There was no sign of Krystal Seabright, not that I had expected to see her. It seemed quite clear to me that Molly was just a small person who happened to live in the same house as Krystal. Molly had turned out the way she had turned out by luck or self-preservation or watching A&E. She had probably watched all the drama and rebellion and parental conflict of Erin’s life, and consciously turned in the other direction in order to win approval.
Funny, I thought, Molly Seabright was probably exactly who my little sister would have been, had I had a little sister. My parents had adopted me and called it quits. I was more than enough to handle. Too bad for them. The child learning from my mistakes might have been exactly the daughter they had wanted in the first place.
I got out of the car as I saw Molly come out of the school. She didn’t spot me right away. She walked with her head down, pulling her little black case behind her. Though she was surrounded by other children, she seemed alone, deep in thought. I called out to her as she turned and started down the sidewalk. When she saw me, her face brightened with a carefully tempered expectation.
“Did you find her already?” she asked.
“No, not yet. I’ve spent the day asking a lot of questions. She may be in Ocala,” I said.
Molly shook her head. “She wouldn’t have moved without telling me, without calling me.”
“Erin tells you everything?” I asked, opening the car door for her. I glanced around to see if anyone had me pegged as a child molester. No one was paying any attention at all.
“Yes.”
I went around to the driver’s side, got behind the wheel, and started the engine. “Did she tell you she and Chad were involved with each other?”
Her gaze glanced off of mine and she seemed to shrink a little in the seat.
“Why didn’t you tell me about Chad?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled. “I would rather not acknowledge Chad’s existence.”
Or that Erin had shifted from sister to sexual being, I thought as I drove back toward the cul-de-sac where Molly lived. Erin had been her idol and protector. If Erin abandoned her, then Molly was all alone in the land of dysfunctional Seabrights.
“Chad was at Erin’s apartment
“Did she give you a reason?” I asked quietly. “I wouldn’t ask,” I added as his tension level came back up. “But something has happened where Erin was working, and now she’s nowhere to be found.”
“Is she in trouble?”
“I don’t know.”
He thought about that for a minute. “She said there was someone else. ‘A man,’ she said. Like I’m twelve or something.” He shook his head in disgust.
“Did she say who?”
“I didn’t ask. I mean, why should I care? I know she had a thing for her boss, but he’s like fifty or something . . .”
“Did she tell you she was going anywhere? Did she say anything about changing jobs or moving?”
He shook his head.
“She never said anything about going to Ocala?”
“Ocala? Why would she go there?”
“Her boss says she quit her job and moved to Ocala to take another.”
“That’s news to me,” he said. “No. She wouldn’t do that. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Thanks for the info.” I pulled a card from my pocket, my phone number scribbled on it. “If you hear from her, would you call this number and leave a message?”
Chad took the card and stared at it.
I went back to my car and sat at the end of the Seabright driveway for a moment. I looked around the neighborhood. Quiet, lovely, expensive; golfers lining up a tee shot beyond the backyard. The American dream.
I thought about the Seabrights. Well-off, successful; neurotic, contentious, seething with secret resentments. The American dream in a fun house mirror.
I parked on the street in front of the school, the soccer moms and me. I would have felt less out of place in a chorus line. Kids began to pour out the doors and head for the buses or the car-pool line.
There was no sign of Krystal Seabright, not that I had expected to see her. It seemed quite clear to me that Molly was just a small person who happened to live in the same house as Krystal. Molly had turned out the way she had turned out by luck or self-preservation or watching A&E. She had probably watched all the drama and rebellion and parental conflict of Erin’s life, and consciously turned in the other direction in order to win approval.
Funny, I thought, Molly Seabright was probably exactly who my little sister would have been, had I had a little sister. My parents had adopted me and called it quits. I was more than enough to handle. Too bad for them. The child learning from my mistakes might have been exactly the daughter they had wanted in the first place.
I got out of the car as I saw Molly come out of the school. She didn’t spot me right away. She walked with her head down, pulling her little black case behind her. Though she was surrounded by other children, she seemed alone, deep in thought. I called out to her as she turned and started down the sidewalk. When she saw me, her face brightened with a carefully tempered expectation.
“Did you find her already?” she asked.
“No, not yet. I’ve spent the day asking a lot of questions. She may be in Ocala,” I said.
Molly shook her head. “She wouldn’t have moved without telling me, without calling me.”
“Erin tells you everything?” I asked, opening the car door for her. I glanced around to see if anyone had me pegged as a child molester. No one was paying any attention at all.
“Yes.”
I went around to the driver’s side, got behind the wheel, and started the engine. “Did she tell you she and Chad were involved with each other?”
Her gaze glanced off of mine and she seemed to shrink a little in the seat.
“Why didn’t you tell me about Chad?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled. “I would rather not acknowledge Chad’s existence.”
Or that Erin had shifted from sister to sexual being, I thought as I drove back toward the cul-de-sac where Molly lived. Erin had been her idol and protector. If Erin abandoned her, then Molly was all alone in the land of dysfunctional Seabrights.
“Chad was at Erin’s apartment
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