Nicky and Katherine splash each other in the inflatable pool on the grass outside.
Lena took a piece of corn from the bag and gingerly pulled back the husk. You never knew when you were going to find a fat beige worm or a nasty black hole full of scurrying creatures. This one looked perfect, though. She liked the silk because it reminded her of Bridget’s hair. The way it used to be, anyway.
“So, Lena, how is your boyfriend?” Tibby’s mom asked. She wiggled her eyebrows as if to indicate that this was dishy, and wasn’t she just one of the girls for knowing about it.
Lena tried not to wince openly. She wasn’t comfortable with the term
boyfriend
even when she did have one, and she hated everybody knowing her private business.
“We broke up,” she said lightly. “You know, the whole long-distance thing.”
“That’s too bad,” Alice said.
“Yes,” Lena agreed. She couldn’t help feeling that the mothers were a little eager on the boyfriend issue, as if life would really start once the boyfriends were under way. Lena resented that. She waited in silence for a while for that subject to die off before she introduced a new one.
“Um . . . Alice?” As soon as the girls had learned to talk, Tibby’s mom had insisted they call her by her name.
“Yes?”
Lena had first had this idea a few days before. Originally she’d dismissed it as being too diabolical. The truth was, it was pretty unlike her. But now that she was presented with the perfect opportunity, she didn’t really see how she could do harm with it.
She took a deep breath. She wanted to make sure her voice came out casual and innocent. “Did my mom ever talk to you about Eugene?” she asked.
Alice paused over her potatoes. In the sunlit room, Lena could see Alice’s freckles—all-over freckles like Tibby’s but very faint. “Eugene?” Her eyes got a slightly glazed, nostalgic look. “Sure. That was the Greek boy your mom was so crazy about, right?”
Lena sucked in her breath. She had scored information more quickly than she’d expected. “Right,” she said, feeling dishonest about pretending to be the one with the information.
Alice still had a distant look on her face. “He broke her heart, didn’t he?”
Lena faced the corn. Blood rushed to her head, turning her cheeks pink. She hadn’t been expecting to hear that. “Yeah, I guess he did.”
Alice put her knife down and gazed up at the ceiling. She seemed to be enjoying her stroll down memory lane. “God, I remember when he came to visit when you were just a baby.” She looked at Lena. “I’m sure she told you about that.”
Lena bit the inside of her cheek. “Um . . . she might have.” She was starting to feel uncomfortable. She had found more treasure than she was prepared to carry home. Treasure in such large amounts stopped feeling precious.
Lena couldn’t help staring at Alice. She had the sense that Alice wasn’t being careful enough, that she didn’t care enough about other people’s secrets.
“Well, I’m sure she’ll tell you about it sometime,” Alice said quietly. She seemed to consider that she had said more than was wise. She turned back to her potatoes. “Anyway, why do you ask about him?”
That was a good question. Lena tried to think of a good answer very quickly.
Luckily Katherine stumbled through the sliding doors, crying and slipping and trying to explain something about Nicky and her bucket. She trailed water and dirt and bits of grass all over the clean kitchen floor. Lena felt grateful to both Nicky and Katherine, because Tibby’s mom instantly shooed the baby out of the kitchen and began cleaning the floor, sending all thoughts of Eugene the heartbreaker back to distant memory.
Bridget woke up in a sweat. It was hot, that was the reason, but it was also her dreams. By day, she studied and touched her mother’s things, and by night, she dreamed about them. The dreams gave her as fragmented a vision of Marly as the boxes in
Lena took a piece of corn from the bag and gingerly pulled back the husk. You never knew when you were going to find a fat beige worm or a nasty black hole full of scurrying creatures. This one looked perfect, though. She liked the silk because it reminded her of Bridget’s hair. The way it used to be, anyway.
“So, Lena, how is your boyfriend?” Tibby’s mom asked. She wiggled her eyebrows as if to indicate that this was dishy, and wasn’t she just one of the girls for knowing about it.
Lena tried not to wince openly. She wasn’t comfortable with the term
boyfriend
even when she did have one, and she hated everybody knowing her private business.
“We broke up,” she said lightly. “You know, the whole long-distance thing.”
“That’s too bad,” Alice said.
“Yes,” Lena agreed. She couldn’t help feeling that the mothers were a little eager on the boyfriend issue, as if life would really start once the boyfriends were under way. Lena resented that. She waited in silence for a while for that subject to die off before she introduced a new one.
“Um . . . Alice?” As soon as the girls had learned to talk, Tibby’s mom had insisted they call her by her name.
“Yes?”
Lena had first had this idea a few days before. Originally she’d dismissed it as being too diabolical. The truth was, it was pretty unlike her. But now that she was presented with the perfect opportunity, she didn’t really see how she could do harm with it.
She took a deep breath. She wanted to make sure her voice came out casual and innocent. “Did my mom ever talk to you about Eugene?” she asked.
Alice paused over her potatoes. In the sunlit room, Lena could see Alice’s freckles—all-over freckles like Tibby’s but very faint. “Eugene?” Her eyes got a slightly glazed, nostalgic look. “Sure. That was the Greek boy your mom was so crazy about, right?”
Lena sucked in her breath. She had scored information more quickly than she’d expected. “Right,” she said, feeling dishonest about pretending to be the one with the information.
Alice still had a distant look on her face. “He broke her heart, didn’t he?”
Lena faced the corn. Blood rushed to her head, turning her cheeks pink. She hadn’t been expecting to hear that. “Yeah, I guess he did.”
Alice put her knife down and gazed up at the ceiling. She seemed to be enjoying her stroll down memory lane. “God, I remember when he came to visit when you were just a baby.” She looked at Lena. “I’m sure she told you about that.”
Lena bit the inside of her cheek. “Um . . . she might have.” She was starting to feel uncomfortable. She had found more treasure than she was prepared to carry home. Treasure in such large amounts stopped feeling precious.
Lena couldn’t help staring at Alice. She had the sense that Alice wasn’t being careful enough, that she didn’t care enough about other people’s secrets.
“Well, I’m sure she’ll tell you about it sometime,” Alice said quietly. She seemed to consider that she had said more than was wise. She turned back to her potatoes. “Anyway, why do you ask about him?”
That was a good question. Lena tried to think of a good answer very quickly.
Luckily Katherine stumbled through the sliding doors, crying and slipping and trying to explain something about Nicky and her bucket. She trailed water and dirt and bits of grass all over the clean kitchen floor. Lena felt grateful to both Nicky and Katherine, because Tibby’s mom instantly shooed the baby out of the kitchen and began cleaning the floor, sending all thoughts of Eugene the heartbreaker back to distant memory.
Bridget woke up in a sweat. It was hot, that was the reason, but it was also her dreams. By day, she studied and touched her mother’s things, and by night, she dreamed about them. The dreams gave her as fragmented a vision of Marly as the boxes in
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