“Found it in the box with the CDs and DVDs.”
My breath catches. “What on earth?”
“I don’t know.” He holds it up to the light, as if it might reveal something. “You must’ve put it there by accident.”
I take it out of the bag and run my fingers along the cool metal. The little heart is unmistakable. “There’s no way I’d put it in with the CDs.” But even as I say it, doubt creeps in. The edges of my memory feel slick and unreliable.
“It’s not a big deal. People misplace things, especially if they’ve had a glass or two of wine.”
I frown.
He sighs. “The empty bottle, Caren.”
I feel my face redden. Heat crawls up my neck. “I told you. I didn’t open that bottle of wine. I don’t drink like that anymore. Have you even noticed?”
“I have noticed. And I’m proud of you. I just thought… maybe you were sad. About Rachel leaving. You’re allowed the occasional drink.”
“I know that.” My voice falters. “We’re just going in circles now.”
“Well, this is good news. The bracelet’s back. I’ll return it to that woman.”
“Holly,” I say, forcing a smile. It doesn’t feel like good news at all.
“At least we won’t have to drag Rachel into this. That’s a relief.”
“I think we should still talk to her.”
“Why?” His voice sharpens. “We have the bracelet. We can return it to that woman. The drama is over.”
“Don’t you want to know how she got it?”
“Not really. Kids do dumb stuff. You said this woman wasn’t interested in going to the police. That she just wanted her bracelet back—”
“Right.”
“So I’ll return it. End of story.”
Half an hour later, Miguel leaves for work with the bangle tucked into his backpack. I watch him turn the car onto the street where Holly lives and disappear out of sight. I imagine him walking up to her front door and presenting her stolen bracelet, the one she thought that she might never see again. It’s a good day for Holly. And it should be a good day for me. The bracelet was not missing at all. Just misplaced the whole time.
It will feel like closure for her. But it doesn’t for me.
After I get dressed, I call Yumi.
“You okay?” she asks.
“I had a weird thing happen. That turned out to be… nothing.”
“But you still think it is something?”
“Exactly.” I tell her about the email from Holly, how I couldn’t find the bracelet last night, and how Miguel discovered it in another box. “The whole thing freaked me out because Rachel is the one who donated the bracelet. Well, she thought she was donating it to Goodwill, but I found it at the bottom of a bag and took it for the yard sale. I mean, how did she get that bracelet?” I pause for breath. “I’m thinking of going to talk to this Holly woman myself and get more details.”
“Huh,” Yumi finally says.
“What does ‘huh’ mean?”
As I wait for Yumi to respond, my eyes travel to a framed photo of Zach and Rachel on the dresser. Two skinny bodies, dripping wet, grinning from ear to ear. She was nine, he was twelve. It was one of the few years they both swam for our local pool’s swim team. I dreaded those early-morning practices at the time. What I wouldn’t give now to have just one more morning with them both.
“It’s probably nothing.”
