“You think I should be scared. ”
“I remember when Elizabeth and Jack got married. They were as in love as any two people I’ve ever seen. And she still needed two martinis to walk down the aisle. Only a fool wouldn’t be afraid, Claire. Maybe that’s why weddings take place in churches—because each one is an act of faith. ”
“I love him. ”
“I know you do. ”
“But I should sign a prenuptial agreement to protect my assets in case we get divorced. ”
“I’m a lawyer. Protecting people is what I do. ”
“You protect strangers. Members of your family are a different thing. ”
Meghann looked down at her drink, then said softly, “I guess. ”
Claire wished she could take back that little cruelty. What was it about their past that made them wound each other so consistently? “I know you’re trying to help, but how can you? You don’t believe in love. Or marriage. ”
It was a moment before Meg answered, and when she did speak, her voice was soft. “I’ve never seen a baby crow. ”
“What?”
“On my way to work, I see crows clustered along the phone lines in the waterfront park. So I know that every spring there are nests somewhere, filled with tiny newborn crows. ”
“Meg, are you having a seizure?”
“My point is: I know things exist that I never see. Love has to be one of them. I’m trying to believe in it for you. ”
Claire knew how much it cost her sister to say something like that. No one who’d grown up in Mama’s shadow found it easy to believe in love. That Meghann would try, for Claire’s sake, really meant something. “Thank you. And thanks for planning the wedding. Even if you are keeping every detail a secret. ”
“It’s been more fun that I thought. Kinda like being on the prom committee—not that I ever would have been on such a thing. ”
“I was Prom Queen. ” Claire grinned. “No kidding, and Rhododendron Princess, too, at Mountaineering Days. ”
Meghann laughed. Obviously she was relieved by a return to casual conversation. “What does the rhodie princess do?”
“Sit in the back of a 1953 Ford pickup in a dress the color of Pepto-Bismol and wave at the crowd. The 4-H Goat Club walked behind us in the parade. It was raining so hard that I ended up looking like Tim Curry at the end of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Dad took about three dozen photos and put them all in an album. ”
Meghann looked down at her drink again. It was a moment before she spoke. “That’s a nice memory. ”
Claire immediately regretted her comment. All it did was highlight Meghann’s fatherlessness. “I’m sorry. ”
“You were lucky to have Sam. And Ali is lucky to have you. You’re a great mother. ”
“Do you regret it?” Claire said, surprising both of them with the intimate question. “Not having kids, I mean. ”
“Being a divorce lawyer made me sterile. ”
“Meghann,” she said evenly.
Meg finally looked at her. “I don’t think I’d be any good at it. Let’s just leave it at that. ”
“You were a good mother to me. For a while. ”
“It’s the ‘for a while’ that matters. ”
Claire leaned toward her sister. “I’d like you to baby-sit Alison next week. While Bobby and I are on our honeymoon. ”
“I thought you weren’t taking a honeymoon. ”