Maybe it was all for the best this way.
She sucked in deep breath, and released it slowly. And took the phone back to its perch in the hallway.
“Oh, Glory, honey, when did you get in? What on earth are you... Is that your brother’s shirt?”
“Hi, Mom. Hi, Gary. Yep. Found it in the laundry pile this morning and I was a little desperate. Thanks for covering me up last night, by the way. I didn’t even hear you come in. I must have been zonked.”
“You really were out like a light, honey.” She paused. “But you did stir and mumble a little when I put the comforter over you.”
Glory was amused, and a little worried, hoping she hadn’t said anything too profane. She’d probably said “Freebird!” Or “show us your tits!” God only knew she’d heard that often enough. “What did I say?”
Her mom hesitated. “You said, ‘Eli.’”
Glory froze like a criminal in the beam of an overhead helicopter.
And for an instant the silence was total apart from the refrigerator humming in the next room.
“I miss him, too, honey,” her mom said finally, softly.
Gary Shaw was taking all of this in with the sympathetic air of a man who had already heardeverythingabout the Greenleafs, and not only could handle every bit of it, but rather liked it.
And now Glory realized they didn’t talk about Eli or Jonah in the house because her mom understood how Glory felt about it. Her mom had been honoringGlory’sfeelings.
Glory was a little abashed she’d been found out. But it was useful to know she’d muttered his name in her sleep. Because she supposed the word that popped out when your mind was shut off and your heart was unfettered by analysis, when you were at your most surrendered... well, that must be the truest word you knew.
Eli was proud of how well he seemed to be holding it together, admirably, even, in the absence of a phone call or any word from Glory since that day. He’d said his piece, she’d said hers, and there was peace in that.Pieceandpeacereminded him of that dip Macklemore’s misspelled tattoo, and then he thought about Francone, and even though he knew Glory, at heart, was made of integrity, he knew she was also made of ambition. And the effort it took not to analyze or extrapolate what might come next was like balancing on the top rail of that old whitewashed fence out near that pasture by the elm tree.
He’d spent a long but satisfying day testifying in court yesterday and he was going to work a short shift before he headed out to Sacramento for his meeting with Leigh, armed with an impressive PowerPoint presentation regarding a proposed ten-year plan for his life on his laptop.
Deputy Owen Haggerty was at the front desk when Eli checked in.
“Morning, chief. You’re heading up to county today, right? Nothing’s really happening yet. Glory Greenleaf called here yesterday looking for you, though. She said it wasWHOA.”
Eli lunged at Owen and clutched his shirt like someone in a melodramatic 1930s gangster movie.
“What do you mean ‘whoa’? What the hell? What’s wrong? Is she okay?Owen, what the hell?”
Owen’s eyes got huge. “She’s fine! She said it was nothing. Didn’t leave a message. TheWHOAwas for your face.”
Eli released his deputy, thoroughly amazed to realize he hadn’t actually been keeping it together all that well.
“What’s wrong my face?” His hands went up to explore it.
Owen stood back and smoothed his shirt and appeared to give some good thought to this question. “Well, when I said the wordsGlory Greenleafyour expression was kind of like you got hit with a shovel. You know, sort of dazed? But also as if getting hit with the shovel somehow adjusted your internal lighting and you were about five times brighter.”
They stared at each other.
Owen’s eyes were glinting.
Eli willed a flush not to happen. Judging from his skin temperature, he hadn’t completely succeeded.
“Very observant. Good use of detail, Owen,” Eli said finally. “Anyone ever tell you that you should go into law enforcement?”
Owen was studying him curiously, his eyes still shining.
And Eli was going to have to stand there and watch realization dawning in his deputy’s eyes, because Eli couldn’t not say what he said next. He cleared his throat. “If Glory calls again... give her my cell phone number. And make sure I know about itright away.”
“Oooohhhh!” Owen was all insinuating realization. “It’s like that, huh?” Owen began to purse his lips.
