The History of Us by Leah Stewart Page A

writing,” she said, which maybe didn’t express the facts but captured her intentions. “I just came down for coffee.”
    “I don’t want to interrupt you,” Eloise said. “We can talk later.”
    “Now’s okay,” Theo said. “I don’t like suspense.”
    Eloise didn’t respond to this, didn’t make a joke or say there was nothing to worry about. She sat down at the kitchen table and waited for the other two to join her. Then she said, “I’m not sure how aware you two are of my arrangement with your grandmother about the house.” She paused as though waiting for them to jump in, but neither did. Theo had no idea what was in Josh’s mind, but she was filled with a dread that kept her silent. “It was her idea that we sell your parents’ house and move in here, and then of course she left for Sewanee. When she moved she promised to sign this house over to me, but she’s put that off over the years. A couple of years ago we agreed she’d do it once Claire was out of the house, and today she told me she was ready.”
    “Okay,” Josh said, but warily, Theo noticed. He, too, must have sensed something bad coming.
    “So,” said Eloise, “why am I telling you this? Well, guys, the thing is, once Francine does finally make the house mine, I want to try to sell it.”
    “No,” Theo said, before she could think. “You can’t do that to us.”
    For a moment Eloise looked stunned, as though a student at the back of the class had risen to denounce her. But then herlook of surprise slid toward anger. “I’m not doing anything to you, ” she said. “I’m hardly throwing you out today.”
    “No, you’re throwing us out later,” Theo said.
    Josh looked at his sister. “It might take a while for the house to sell,” he said.
    “It might,” Theo said. “Or it might not. Josh and I still live here.”
    Eloise made a visible effort at self-control. “But that’s temporary,” she said. “You’re adults. You weren’t going to live with me forever, and then I’ll have this enormous house I may or may not be able to unload. Josh is right. It might take a while—it might take a year or two or more in this market—and I can’t afford to wait much longer.”
    “Is that all the house is to you?” Theo asked. “Just something you have to unload?”
    “Theo,” Eloise said. “This is a very expensive house to maintain. I’ve put a great deal of money into it, and as a result I have almost nothing in the way of savings.”
    “What about the money from my parents’ house? What about their life insurance?”
    Eloise made an incredulous sound. “You think I kept that money for myself? It went into your college funds. It’s where I got Claire’s start-up money for New York.”
    “We shouldn’t have spent it,” Theo said. “We didn’t have to go to such expensive schools.”
    Eloise stared at her. “That’s a little beside the point now, isn’t it?” she asked. “I’m sorry you’re upset, I really am. My mother started out giving me money for the property taxes, and one year she paid for a new roof, but her house in Sewanee was expensive and her own savings were diminishing fast, so I couldn’t expectmore help from her. For two years I was just an adjunct, and even now I don’t make a lot of money.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what else to say.”
    Theo rounded on Josh. “What do you think about this?”
    He looked stricken. “What do I think?” he repeated.
    “Is that such a hard question?” she said. “Do you even know?”
    His expression hardened. “Fuck you, Theo,” he said.
    It was nice to know he had a backbone in there, if you looked for it hard enough, but why was Theo the only person he ever showed it to? She stood without a word, without another glance at her brother or her aunt, grabbed her bag from its place by the front door, and walked out of the house. Her house. Her house. She walked for several minutes without being aware of her surroundings, headed