15
Brandy
Edmonds, Washington – 2018
As soon asI walked into the school library, Harriet called out to me from behind the counter. “Your aunt isn’t here. There was an emergency, so she left for the day.”
“What kind of emergency?” I asked, not very worried. After all, had there been a true emergency, Aunt Ruthie would’ve called me herself. Wouldn’t she?
“Lia started bleeding.”
“Oh no.” Guilt slammed into me. Lia called this morning before I left for work, but I was busy reading through the newspaper archives I’d found online about my mother’s murder. Because Lia didn’t leave a message, I didn’t call her back. “Do you know if she’s okay?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from your mom yet, and I didn’t want to call.” Harriet placed a stack of books on the rolling cart.
Right away, I caught a glimpse of Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. It pleased me so much to see that the book was still in circulation. All of Judy Blume’s books, and reading in general, had offered me so much comfort as a child.
Not only had books given me an escape from what felt like a shameful background, it also gave me insight into other people’s lives. It made me realize I wasn’t the only one who felt like an outsider.
“I thought your aunt would be back by now,” Harriet said. “At the very least, I thought she’d call and tell me what happened.”
Refusing to stand around talking about what could or couldn’t have happened, I went back outside and called Aunt Ruthie. Thankfully, she answered on the first ring. “I’m here at the library. Is Lia okay? Harriet said she was bleeding.”
“Yes, but everything is fine now, honey. In fact, it’s better than fine. You should call Lia.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
My aunt laughed in a way that was totally unlike her. “Aunt Ruthie? Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes. Tell Harriet I’ll be back tomorrow. And call me after you’ve talked to Lia.”
I pushed out a slow breath. “Can’t you just tell me what’s going on with her? Is the baby okay?”
“Yes, the baby is fine. Lia had a sonogram today, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
“Oh, she found out what she’s having.”
“Yes.” Aunt Ruthie laughed. “Exactly.”
“Okay.” After hanging up, I returned to the library to relay my aunt’s message to Harriet. Then I walked outside to wait for the dismissal bell.
As I stood there, I thought about using the time to call Lia. I even pulled up my phone icon, but something stopped me.
In Texas, Lia and I had gotten into a horrible fight after leaving Dottie’s house. She’d chastised me for entertaining the thought that Dottie might be right about my father’s innocence.
“I don’t know if she’s right,” I insisted. “It’s just that ever since learning why my father was in jail, I assumed the case was closed. I never imagined that someone thought he didn’t do it.”
“He did do it. My mother was there, remember? She saw him.”
“I know, but like Dottie said, your mom had never seen my father in person before the lineup.”
“Except in the kitchen after he killed your mom.”
Lia’s blunt words felt like a slap across the face. After that, our conversation went downhill, both of us exchanging words we shouldn’t have said. By the time we reached town and met up with Aunt Ruthie, our tempers were high. Since returning to Texas, we hadn’t spoken except for a brief exchange on the birthday harbor cruise.
When Troy asked what was wrong, I couldn’t tell him. I wanted to. As an assistant prosecutor, he’d probably have some insight into Eddie’s case, but I needed space and time to process everything.
If I called Lia now, what would I say? I wasn’t going to apologize. I hadn’t done anything wrong. I supposed I could pretend nothing happened and just ask about the sonogram.