"What the—Uncle Walter, can you do something?" Carter said.
Walter stood up. "Harris," he said, "cool it down, or you're going to stay outside."
"You can't put an old man out!"
"I most certainly can. Allie is a guest."
"So am I!"
"No, you're a mooch. You still want to keep your allowance, yes? Then stay on good behavior. I mean it."
"You can't speak to me like that," Harris said, gesturing wildly with his fork. "I gave you and Jack the money to grow that business!"
"Yes, and it's a good thing you did. Otherwise, there would be no money left. You frittered away what few millions your father left you."
"You done?" Carter asked Allie. "Let's go. I'm not staying here any longer."
"Be careful," Jack called after them.
Carter ignored him and dragged Allie and Margot out of the house.
12
Carter
"If we’re taking my car, you have to pay for gas," Allie said when they were standing outside the house.
"You need to calm down about that," Carter said as he put on his sunglasses. A black town car pulled up, and Carter opened the door for Allie.
On the drive into New Cardiff, Carter pointed out the various landmarks. They passed by one empty lot where there were dumpsters and backhoes.
"Stop the car!" Carter shouted.
"Why, are we here?" Allie asked.
Carter ignored her, wrenched open the car door, and sprinted toward the pile of rubble.
"They demolished it. I can't believe it," he said, staring sorrowfully at the spot where his little cousins had lived their final moments.
Allie jogged up the hill after him. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"They tore it down. My three cousins died here in a house fire a few years go. No one told me they were demolishing the house."
"This must have been a shock for you, I bet," Allie said to him.
Carter nodded then started sobbing.
Allie rubbed her hand in circles on his back as he sniffled. "Were you close to your cousins?"
"Yeah, they were like my little shadows. I would spend almost every day after school with them. It's been years since they died, and it still hurts."
Allie offered him a tissue, and he wiped his eyes.
"Everyone said it would be better in time, and it's not. Especially this time of year. The youngest one loved fall, and she adored Halloween and Thanksgiving. Said it was better than Christmas, even though she didn’t receive presents. She just liked the food and the family gatherings, and I would take them to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. I’ll never do that again. Like, that willneverhappen again.Ever.Because they are gone. It’s just so awful."
Allie sighed and sank down next to him in the dry brown weeds that sprouted on the neglected property.
"It’s a lie that time makes grief better. You just learn to ignore it. Some days it works, and some days it doesn’t."
