“No way,” Irene said flatly. “He couldn’t have pinned that on us. We were dressed as nuns!”
“Yes,” Edie said. “One small Asian nun, one tall Black nun, two white nuns.”
Something, a creak, caught Frances’s attention, and she turned toward the windows. Was someone out there?
“Look,” Edie continued, “he made us. And he … he made an anonymous phone call to the FBI about it. I barely had time to warn you! And when I told you, we had that hellacious fight, and I never got to explain. You weren’t caught, thank God, but if you want me to say I regret what I chose, you will be disappointed. I regret how it all went down, but I don’t regret choosing him. If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have my family. I wouldn’t have my children and my grandchildren. That’s all I’m going to say.”
“It’s not allI’mgoing to say—” Irene started, but Frances suddenly threw a hand up to stop her from speaking, then put a finger to her lips. She pointed to the window.
The four of them stilled, their instincts, honed in their twenties, kicking in. They could hear it, too—the creak of wood under the weight of something larger than a dog. Irene reached for the wall and turned the single kitchen light off, then slipped down the hall to cover the bedroom windows. Joan signaled she would take the back door. Frances and Edie crept carefully to the living room and the front door.
The years melted away, and the four of them moved into familiar roles. They knew how to work together, to move quietly and quickly. Edie carefully unplugged a lamp and held it up, ready to strike. She put her back to the wall between the door and thewindow and nodded at Frances. Frances reached for the door handle, her hand resting on it. They listened.
They heard it again, this time just on the other side of the door. Frances yanked the door open, and Edie leapt into the opening, lamp raised. On the other side of the door, Marcy yelped.
Edie lowered the lamp and grabbed her granddaughter by the wrist, yanking her inside. Frances shut the door, then rose up on her tiptoes to look out. She couldn’t see anyone else on the street. “Clear,” she said.
“Clear,” Irene added, walking in from the hall.
“Clear,” Joan said, joining them in the living room.
The four of them stared at Marcy. Marcy smiled meekly and said, “Hi.”
Sixteen
What was she going to do with this girl? Edie was furious.Embarrassed.She didn’t like that her friends were witnessing how she lacked control over her own family. “Yourhiis not accepted,” she said sternly. “I expressly told you to butt out.”
“I’m sorry, Nana, but this is the most interesting thing that has ever happened to this family. How can you ask me to butt out?”
“How did you even find me?” Edie demanded. “You were in the shower when I left.”
Marcy rolled her eyes. “You have the family location app on your phone, remember? You should turn that off.”
Irene groaned with exasperation and fell onto the couch. Joan walked back into the kitchen, probably so that she wouldn’t say something she would regret. And Frances looked on with fascination.
Edie’s fury with Marcy ratcheted. For one, she didn’t know she had that location thing on, and two, she didn’t know how to turn it off. “What part ofstay out of itdo you not understand?” She put her hands on Marcy’s shoulders and tried to turn her toward the door, but Marcy resisted. “Marcy, go home to Nashville. I want you as far from here as possible. This isnone of your business, and right now, you’re a huge complication. Justgo.”
“I don’t understand why it’s such a big secret,” Marcy argued. “I already know most of it.”
Edie was going to lose her mind. Right here, right now. They would cart her off in an ambulance before the night was over. “I’m allowed to have secrets from you. Just because you want to know doesn’t mean you have a right to know. This is my life, Marcy, and you are not invited—do you understand?”
“Not really,” Marcy said. The girl could be stubborn, but this was a new level, even for her.
“We need our privacy. It’s not just me who needs privacy—my friends have their reasons, too.”
“Right,” Marcy said. “I heard a little bit about that.”
Edie could feel a scream gaining strength in her lungs. “If you don’t stop following me, I’ll make sure you never see another dime of money from this family again. Doesthatget your attention?”
Judging by the surprise on Marcy’s face, it did. She turned and went to the door. She opened it, looked back, then walked out the door without a word.
“Money talks,” Irene said.
Edie waited until she could see Marcy’s car moving down the street before she turned back to her friends. “This is a complication. She’s not going to let it go—she’s as stubborn as I am.”
“Yikes, that bad? Not good,” Joan remarked.
“What do you want to do?” Frances asked.
