Plus, Aunt Mary was nice enough to let Naomi store some of Faye’s things at her house before she moved to LA. Naomi tried to donate or throw out as much of her sister’s stuff as possible after she died, but there were still about five boxes worth of things she couldn’t face getting rid of—old notebooks, photos, select clothes, and other keepsakes. Aunt Mary agreed to keep them in her basement so Naomi didn’t have to lug them with her to California. The last time she saw Aunt Mary was when she dropped them off.
After taking a deep breath, Naomi presses the call button. Her heart pounds with increasing vigor at every ring.
“Well, look who it is!” Aunt Mary sounds cheery, making Naomi relax.
“Aunt Mary, how are you?”
“I’m doin’ great, hun, doin’ great.” Her New York accent is stronger than Naomi remembers. “Just puttin’ some favors together for your cousin’s gender reveal this weekend.”
Naomi’s face flushes as she remembers the invitation she ignored months back. “Oh yeah, you guys must be so excited…”
“We are! Shame you can’t make it, we’d all love to see ya.”
“Well, actually, I’m back in New York for work and might be able to stop by if that’s okay?”
“Oh, fantastic! Of course that’s okay. It’s Saturday afternoon, one o’clock.”
“Great, I’ll be there.” Naomi already regrets it, not sure she can withstand an entire afternoon of baby talk and questions about her plans for the future. But at least she’ll have her meeting with Emily Dutton to look forward to.
“I’d offer a place to stay the night but I’ve already given the rooms to—”
“No, no, honestly, please don’t worry,” Naomi interrupts. “I’m actually heading up north to Maine after, to cover Colton Scott’s funeral.”
“Oh, that sounds depressing.” Aunt Mary’s tone shifts from mournful to angry. “That horrible singer. What she’s done…” Naomi pictures her clutching at her chunky costume necklace as she shakes her head.
“Yeah, it’s all very sad,” Naomi replies, not wanting to get into the details.
“How you getting to Maine, hun?”
“Planning to just rent a car in Poughkeepsie.”
“Okay, well don’t forget it shuts around midday on Saturday. Closed on Sundays too.”
Naomi quickly googles this and realizes Aunt Mary’s right. “Oh crap, it does.” She could rent a car from the city, but she doesn’t want the stress of having to drive through Manhattan. “I’ll just get a couple of Ubers I guess. It’ll all be covered by my company, so…”
“Oh, I know!” Aunt Mary exclaims, startling Naomi. “How ’bout you borrow your Uncle Frankie’s car? He’s away on business—in Milwaukee for a conference, somethin’ to do with trains and microchips, lawd knows—but it’s just sittin’ in the driveway.”
“Oh no, it’s fine, I’d feel—”
“Honey, please. It’s the least I can do since I can’t offer you a place to stay. And he has one of those third-party insurance plans, so as long as you have some sort of insurance for yourself, you’re covered. I insist.”
Naomi pauses. Having a car would be helpful. “Okay, that would be great, thanks so much.”
“You gettin’ the train into Poughkeepsie, I’m guessin’? Need me to send someone to pick you up?”
“No, that’s alright,” Naomi responds. “I’ll get a taxi, it’ll be easier.” She adds an “I insist” before Aunt Mary can protest.
“Alright, hun. Well, I look forward to seein’ ya!”
“You too, Aunt Mary. Bye!”
After hanging up, Naomi muses what her aunt would think if she was arrested for murder like Harlow Hayes. Would she tell reporters she didn’t know her that well and distance herself? Or would she defend her regardless, and stand by her in court? She likes to think Aunt Mary would support her—so long as she believed she was innocent. Naomi thinks about her mom and how she’d react. She probably wouldn’t do anything, disappear so no one could ask her questions or bother her about it. Faye, on the other hand, would defend her more fiercely than anyone.
“I’ll always have your back,” Naomi remembers her saying when they were stargazing on the hood of their old Honda Civic one night. It was just after she discovered that Faye was responsible for Naomi’s cheating ex-boyfriend losing his full-ride scholarship to his dream school. Without telling Naomi, Faye anonymously sent “evidence” that Brad had been plagiarizing his papers to the assistant principal, which resulted in disciplinary action and in him ultimately losing his place at Michigan State.
“I appreciate you having my back, but you take things too far sometimes,” Naomi replied, partly amused, partly reprimanding.
“Do I, though?” Faye questioned. “At least everyone knows he’s a cheater now.”
