As You Wish (The Summerhouse 3)

As she drove slowly through the town, she remembered when Kit had driven her around.

She’d looked at each house and thought of who lived where and what had happened to them. Even though she’d tried to warn people, the same tragedies nearly always happened. And right now she was thinking of them as her failures.

But at the end of the street, she pulled the car over and turned off the engine. The yellow house on the end had not been the scene of unspeakable tragedy. The girl who’d grown up there had not slit her wrists because she’d been bullied at school.

At first the memory was vague, but as Olivia looked at the house it became more clear. She and Kit and Tisha were in Summer Hill on vacation. Olivia had her degree then, but she hadn’t practiced much. They were by the lake with a picnic lunch when she saw a girl being teased by two others, and the girl looked like she was going to cry.

Olivia didn’t know why she was so drawn to the situation, but she knew she had to step in. The girl, Lisa, had parents who were too busy, too extroverted to see what was being done to their quiet, introverted daughter. Olivia invited the girl to join them and after that day, they started corresponding. When she was back in Summer Hill, they talked.

On the day that would have been when Lisa committed suicide, Olivia knew she had to get to the school. She didn’t know why, but she ran to the girls’ locker room just in time to keep the boys out, and she got Lisa’s clothes back to her.

After that, Olivia had long professional talks with the principal about those bratty girls, and with Lisa’s parents.

Today, Lisa was married with two children and she taught elementary school.

Olivia sat in the car for a few moments to let the memories sift through her brain. It’s like waiting for the cream to come to the surface, she thought. Maybe she hadn’t been able to save everyone, but at least she’d succeeded with a few.

When she pulled in to Willie’s driveway, she wondered what she’d find. For those three weeks when she was in 1970, Kit had enjoyed tales of the internet and cell phones and overnight delivery with the passion of a drug addict. But he’d deeply disliked what she’d told him about her marriage—and he disagreed with it all. “I pushed my way into his life,” she said. “I needed a child. I was starving. You can’t sympathize because you’re not a mother.”

“It’s true that I don’t understand men who don’t support their family,” Kit said.

Olivia couldn’t make him see that Alan was a different type of person. He wasn’t as strong as Kit. And Alan hadn’t had the advantages that Kit had. Nothing she said made him understand.

She rang the doorbell, then waited, her heart pounding. When Willie came to the door, Olivia was pleasantly surprised. Willie no longer looked like she’d never done an exercise in her life. She was trim and had on makeup and her hair was soft and sleek. She was in her late sixties now but she looked good.

“Olivia Montgomery!” Willie said. “How nice to see you! How’s your family?”

“Fine. And yours?” She was trying to dredge up what she knew from her two roads of memory. Willie and Alan. Willie and her contractor husband. Willie and... “Alana is your daughter. And you’re Kevin’s stepmother.”

“Oh heavens! What’s he done now? He didn’t try to sell you anything, did he? Sorry. Where are my manners? I just made some iced tea. Come in and have some.”

Willie’s kitchen was pretty and bright and clean, and they sat at the little breakfast table with frosty glasses of tea.

“Now...” Willie said, letting Olivia know she was ready to hear whatever she had to say.

“I know we don’t know each other very well, but—”

“Don’t you remember that I met Alan through you? That you invited me to that appliance sale?”

Olivia remembered it well but she didn’t get them together. “Diane—”

Willie laughed. “That’s right. You and the man you married locked Alan and Diane in that closet together. I thought that was really funny. When Mr. Trumbull opened it, they were kissing. I thought what a great guy Alan was to turn something bad into good. He married Diane and after she died...” Willie shrugged.

“You were there.”

Willie’s face changed. “To my great loss.” She got up to get some cookies. “Have some. I can’t eat any as I gain weight just smelling them.”

“You married Alan?” Olivia encouraged.

“Yes, I married the lazy jerk.” Willie waved her hand. “I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but after what I went through with that man I can say anything. But you don’t want to hear about that.”

“I do!” Olivia said. “I want to hear every word.”

“See this?” Willie motioned to her huge, new house. “This is what a man is supposed to provide for a woman. A home.” She wiggled her left hand to show a big diamond ring. “This is what he’s supposed to give her. But Alan didn’t do anything. He was a parasite! You’ll never believe this, but he expected me to do all the work of running that appliance store. And his mother was just like him. They were like twin sci-fi creatures that latched on and tried to suck all the juice out of me.”

She grabbed the sides of her hair and pulled. “It still makes me so angry I want to scream.” She let go of her hair. “Alan came up with grandiose schemes of more stores and how he was going to do all the work. So his mother bought a store, then Alan went off to play golf. One time I got really angry and demanded that he show me his golf clubs. The bastard didn’t have any. I’m not sure but I think he was having an affair and he expected me to support him and his mistress!” She leaned forward. “Right after our daughter was born, I got out!” Willie grimaced. “When I think of that man! Do you know how he met his third wife?”

She didn’t wait for Olivia to answer. “Alan had a girl who worked in the office. She was really good with numbers and people. A real find. One day he came to me—by that time I was working for my current husband—and said he wanted Alana for the day. I thought that was weird since he didn’t pay much attention to her, but I don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, if you know what I mean.”