"I'm so glad to meet you, Laura. I've heard so much about you." Carol smiled widely, showing even more of her beautiful teeth. "She looks just like George, doesn't she?"
Aunt Grace shrugged. "I've always thought she favored Andrea myself."
I smiled at Aunt Grace, thinking that was a pretty good put-down. Out of the corner of my eye I glanced at Wanda to see how she was reacting to all this. She smirked at me and winked. For some reason, the knowing look in her eye worried me.
"Would you like a cup of tea?" Aunt Grace asked Carol. Her voice was polite, but she could just as well have been offering her a cup of turpentine, I thought.
I started to follow them inside, but Wanda grabbed my arm. "I knew it!" she hissed.
"Knew what?" I pulled away, not sure I wanted to hear what Wanda was dying to tell me.
"I knew your daddy must have a girlfriend!"
"She's not his girlfriend, she's his secretary. You heard what Aunt Grace said." I scowled at Wanda. "He's a lawyer and he has a lot of paperwork to do. He used to bring it home every night. Some nights he had so much work he couldn't come home at all!"
Wanda shook her head. "She don't look like no secretary to me."
"Shut up, Wanda! What do you know about lawyers and secretaries and things like that?"
"More than you know about girlfriends, that's for sure!"
"Get out of here!" I swung at Wanda with my open hand, meaning to slap her right off the porch, but she ducked and I almost fell into the chinaberry bush.
"What's going on?" Aunt Grace peered at us through the screen door.
"I'm just going home, that's all!" Wanda ran down the steps and across the lawn.
"What was that all about?" Aunt Grace stared at me. "You didn't quarrel with Wanda, did you?"
"She thinks she knows everything!" I pushed past Aunt Grace into the hall. "What's
she
doing here? Why didn't she stay in Washington?"
"Who, Carol? Your father said he had so much work to do, he needed her to help him in the evenings, so he brought her along."
"Well, why didn't she stay at the hospital?"
"For some reason, her presence upset Jason. To make
things easier, I suggested she drive me back here. I couldn't just leave her in Harrisburg."
"How are Mom and Dad getting back here without the car?"
"In your mother's car, Laura."
"You mean they didn't drive up here together?" I stared at Aunt Grace.
"Honey, they don't live together anymore. They each drove up. Your father and Carol, your mother by herself." Aunt Grace gave me a little hug. "Why don't you come have a cup of tea with Carol and me?"
Not being able to think of anything better to do, I followed Aunt Grace back to the kitchen and sat down at the table with Carol.
"Hi." She smiled at me as if she was doing me a favor. "What happened to your sidekick?"
"She went home." I busied myself measuring honey into my tea, hoping she'd take the hint and stop talking to me.
"Do you mind if I smoke?" Carol looked at Aunt Grace and smiled as if she were a cute little girl asking to be excused for having a bad habit.
"Not if you don't mind sitting out on the back porch." Aunt Grace smiled too, but I could tell she wasn't about to excuse any bad habits Carol might have.
Carol looked a little surprised. "Oh, you noble nonsmokers! You sure make it hard for us sinners." She laughed. "You used to be able to smoke just about anywhere, except church, but now all you see are those awful little No Smoking signs. I'm getting so I'm ashamed to light up." She laughed again and stood up. "Would you like to keep me company in exile, Laura?"
I looked from her to Aunt Grace, not sure what to
say. I didn't want to be rude exactly, but I felt uncomfortable around Carol. "I guess so."
"Well, I'd better get something started for dinner." Aunt Grace got up and opened the refrigerator.
"Do you need any help?" I surprised myself by volunteering my services.
"After a while you can set the table," Aunt Grace said.
"Did you paint this?" Carol stopped at the drawing table and stared at an unfinished painting of a squirrel perched on the limb of a pine tree. "George told me you were an artist, but I had no idea you were this good. This squirrel's so cute! Walt Disney himself couldn't have painted a better one."
"It's not finished." Aunt Grace didn't bother to look up from the lettuce she was rinsing.
"Well, it's just adorable. Do you have any others I could look at?" Carol persisted.
"No. They're all packed and ready to send to a gallery in Boston."
Carol looked impressed. "Do you sell a lot of art work?"
"Enough to buy groceries and pay my electric bill." Aunt Grace bent down and opened the cupboard where she kept her pots and pans. She made so much noise rummaging around for what she wanted that Thomas got up from the windowsill where he'd been napping. He stretched and walked off, tail in the air, obviously displeased at having been so rudely awakened.
"Well, I've got to have my coffin nail. Coming, Laura?" Carol opened the door and held it for me as I followed her outside.
Just as we were running out of things to say about the weather and the scenery, we saw Mom's car turn into the driveway.
"They're here!" I jumped off the porch and raced across the lawn to meet them, not caring whether Carol got left behind or not.
"Laura! Oh, honey, you look wonderful!" Smiling happily, Mom threw her arms around me.
"Mom! Mom!" I hugged her tightly, happy to feel her familiar bony frame and to smell the fragrance her shampoo always left in her hair.
"Darling!" Over Mom's shoulder, I saw Daddy walking toward me, his hair tousled, his smile warm. Up and down my spine I felt all tingly with happiness at the sight of him.
As I pulled away from Mom to hug him, he grabbed me around the waist and tried to swing me up in the air. "Hey," he grunted in surprise, "do you have ten pound weights in your shoes or something?"
I shook my head, laughing happily.
"Well, it must be the mountain air. Or your aunt's cooking. Anyway, you're prettier than ever!"
Aunt Grace waved from the door. "Come on, you all. I've got dinner on the table."
As soon as we sat down, I could feel the tension. Mom sat between Aunt Grace and me, Dad sat on my other side, and Carol sat between him and Aunt Grace. No one said anything as Aunt Grace passed the chicken around. No one looked at each other. The only sound was the clink of forks. It was so quiet I could hear myself chewing.
"Is Jason any better?" I said suddenly.
Mom shook her head. "He's about the same, honey. They're still not sure what's wrong with him." She pushed her plate away, leaving a drumstick and half her potato salad untouched.
"I think we should take him back to Washington. I'm
sure the doctors at Children's Hospital would know what to do." Dad frowned at Mom. "What can you expect from a hospital in the middle of nowhere?"
"I told you I agree with Doctor Benson. Jason is too sick to travel, George." Mom returned Dad's frown. "He's better off here. They're doing all they can."
"Well, it's not enough." Dad's voice rose a notch, and my stomach churned. Why did they always argue at the dinner table?
Mom looked at Aunt Grace. "Is that hammock out on the porch comfortable?"
"It's wonderful. Go out and try it, Andrea. You'll love it." Aunt Grace smiled and gave Mom a pat as she left the table.
As soon as Mom was out of the room, Dad turned to Aunt Grace. "Well, how's life in West Virginia?"
"Great." Aunt Grace smiled at him and helped herself to more salad. As she passed the bowl to Carol, she added, "I love it here."
"But don't you get bored sometimes? Why, Blue Hollow doesn't even have a restaurant, let alone a movie theater, and it's a half hour's drive to Harrisburg."
Aunt Grace shrugged. "A great cook like me doesn't need to eat out and the mountains are more interesting to watch than most movies are."
"It really is beautiful up here." Carol smiled and waved her fork vaguely at the window and the mountains stretching away to the sky. "And the way she paints." She chewed a mouthful of salad. "If I could paint like that, I'd never be bored."
Dad smiled at Carol and shrugged. "Well, Grace, as long as you're happy, I suppose that's all that matters. But frankly I prefer the city."
I looked at Daddy. "You told me you'd give anything to spend a whole summer in the mountains, soaking up sunshine and breathing fresh air. You said I was really lucky to be coming up here!"
Dad laughed and ruffled my hair as if I were five years old. "Laura, I'm talking about spending your whole life in a place like this. I'd love to get away from Washington for a summer, but I wouldn't want to move up here permanently."
Ignoring Dad, Aunt Grace turned to me. "Do you want more chicken, Laura?"
I shook my head. The way my stomach felt, I didn't think I'd want food for a week or more. "No, thanks," I said, "but I'll help you clear the table." Picking up Carol's plate and mine, I carried them to the sink.
After we washed the dishes, Aunt Grace and I went out on the porch. Mom was lying in the hammock, gazing out across the valley at the sunset, and Dad and Carol were sitting on the steps, laughing at something Dad had just said. I sat down next to Daddy and leaned my head against his shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of his after-shave lotion.
"Hi, sweetie." Daddy gave me a little hug and ruffled my hair again. "Get the kitchen in good shape?"
I nodded. "Of course. I'm an expert at cleaning up. Just think of all the times I've cleaned up your kitchen."
Dad laughed, but Carol leaned around him, smiling, and said, "Isn't he the worst slob? Cleaning up after him is like cleaning up after a two-year-old!"
I stared at her. How did she know what Daddy's kitchen looked like? Or did she mean his office was a mess too? "I thought you were his secretary, not his maid," I said, frowning at her.
Her face flushed and she laughed, but before she could say anything. Daddy stood up and stretched. "Boy, it sure is a beautiful evening. Why don't we go for a walk?"
Carol and I both got up, but it was Carol Daddy spoke to. "Where would you like to go? Down through the woods to the creek or just along the road?"
Looking down at her sandals, Carol shrugged. "I think along the road would be best. These aren't exactly walking shoes."
"Are you coming too?" Daddy turned to me, and there was something in his tone of voice that said he hoped I wasn't.
I hesitated, trying to decide whether to go just to spite him or to say no and sulk. Aunt Grace intervened before I could say anything. "Why don't you stay here and keep your Mom and me company?"
In the few seconds it took me to decide, Dad and Carol started walking across the lawn, their shadows stretching out behind them, long and thin, pinheaded, reaching almost to my feet. I started to go after them, but Aunt Grace caught my arm. "Come on, Laura, sit down and have a glass of iced tea with us."
Angrily I pulled away from her and looked at Mom. She was still sitting in the hammock, adjusting the strap on her sandal, as if it were extremely important to get it just right. Turning my back on both of them, I sat down on the porch railing and watched Dad and Carol disappear around the curve in the road. Even from this distance I could hear Carol laughing, soft and silvery like a teenager.
Aunt Grace went inside and brought out a tray of iced tea glasses. I took mine and sat where I was, my
back to her and Mom, staring at the road and half-hoping I'd see Wanda come into sight. Behind me, I could hear the clink of ice in glasses and the soft voices of my mother and my aunt, talking about Jason. Gradually the conversation shifted away from my brother and I heard Mom ask Aunt Grace about Maude.
"No, I haven't seen her for quite a while. When I first moved here, I used to see her nearly every day. She'd stop down there in the road and stare at the house till she saw me, then she'd wave her fist and curse at me. It was quite embarrassing, really, not to mention kind of sad. Poor old soul."
"She hasn't bothered Jason or Laura, has she?"
"Laura saw her one night in the road, going through her old routine in front of the house, but I told her not to worry about it. Every town has a borderline lunatic like Maude."
"You really think she's harmless?" Mom's voice sounded so uncertain I turned around to look at her. That was a mistake of course, because they both stopped talking and looked at each other, obviously re-laying an adult message that meant I wasn't old enough to hear any more about Maude.
"You don't need to stop talking on account of me," I said. "I know all about Maude. She's a witch; everybody around here knows that."
I tried to look as blasé as possible because I wanted very much to hear more about Maude. All day long I'd been worrying about her, trying to decide what I should do about Jason. I wanted my parents to be here, but I was uneasy about a couple of things; one, of course, was Jason himself. I didn't like his being sick, especially if my visit to Maude was responsible for it. I also
was uneasy about Carol and the way she seemed to come between Daddy and Mom. With her here, I didn't see how they were going to make up and decide they loved each other.
"Laura, I told you that Maude is just an old woman, a little crazy but no more a witch than you or I," Aunt Grace said.
"She hasn't said anything to you, has she?" Mom asked.
I shrugged. "I've only seen her a couple of times," I said evasively.
"I'd stay away from her if I were you," Mom said.
"Why? Do you think she's going to put me in a cage and fatten me up for Sunday dinner?" I tried to make it sound like a joke, but I don't think I succeeded. There was something in my mother's voice that made me uneasy, some secret she was keeping from me.
"She's a strange old woman, Laura, and she has a grudge against our family. I don't trust her and I don't want you to go near her." Mom looked at Aunt Grace. "I think you should've told her about Maude. Saying she's just a harmless old eccentric isn't enough, Grace."
"Oh, Andrea, you surely wouldn't have wanted me to scare Laura with all that superstitious nonsense? I didn't want her to spend the whole summer here cowering in the yard, afraid to step off this property for fear of meeting Maude. I still resent Grandmother's scaring us half to death with her Maude stories when we were children."