Page 21 of Queen of Ruin

“Can I take your coat?” Audrina asks, before I take a seat.

I shrug off my coat, handing it to Audrina, and regretting my short black pleated skirt and pink cashmere sweater. I did it on purpose because I already knew what they thought of me, but so far, they’ve both been pleasant. At least they have Darren’s best interests at heart, and I can understand the scrutiny. I’m an outsider.

“How interesting it must be to work here.” I take a seat, crossing my legs and setting my purse on the floor.

“It is,” she says with a melancholy tone. “And as rewarding as it has been, I’m looking forward to devoting my time to do more charity work.”

Audrina takes a seat next to me on the couch.

“What do board members do?” I look between the two of them, feeling a bit foolish, but I need to know what I’m signing up for.

“We ensure the foundation is sustainable. Some of our Board members have backgrounds in ethics, finance, and law, who all help with that,” Audrina explains.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any of that experience. I thought it was fundraising, donations, things like that,” I explain, feeling a bit dumb.

“Oh no, I didn’t mean to make it sound complicated. Of course we do all of that, and Merrill was very hands on. She would personally deliver donation items to the safe houses on occasion.” Audrina’s expression softens at the mention of Darren’s mother.

“She sounds like a wonderful woman,” I say, smoothing out the creases in my skirt.

“Oh, she was,” Bethany adds with a fond smile. “The Abigail Pershing Foundation was her third child.”

“Kerry was considered her first child,” she laughs, “and Darren of course. Merrill always put family first, but she really threw herself into making the foundation successful.”

“What—” I struggle to find the words. “What happened to Abigail?”

“Darren didn’t tell you anything, did he?” Audrina asks.

Bethany shakes her head. “He’s like his mother in that way, the two of them were always secretive together,” she declares, but with a fondness.

“Secretive?” I ask.

“Just that the two of them seemed to be in their own world when they were together, like a bubble. Merrill was always protective of him, you know, with Kerry being in the public eye,” Bethany explains. “People can be cruel, especially newspapers, and they seemed to have such an interest in Darren.”

“And Abigail?”

“It was in the papers, so tragic,” Bethany shakes her head with a sigh.

“Abigail was working on the phones for Kerry’s campaign. Merrill didn’t know her husband was abusive until he came in one night looking for Abigail, making accusations.” Bethany’s expression is somber when she continues. “Merrill was devastated when she heard. She blamed herself.”

I feel bad for asking, for bringing them back to a memory of Merrill that was unpleasant.

“She created the foundation in her name,” Audrina finishes with a solemn smile, “and she didn’t stop until she recruited all of us.” Audrina laughs, the mood lightening. “I think she felt that was the right thing to do.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up something painful for you.”

“It’s okay. I don’t get to talk about Merrill much. All of the papers were interested in Kerry, which is understandable, but I wish they would have known what a magnetic person Merrill was,” Bethany sighs, and I can see the regret in her eyes. That was Darren’s worry as well, that all the focus was on Kerry and his mother would be forgotten. At least the foundation can be her legacy.

“Well,” Bethany claps her hands together signaling the topic closed. She’s thorough in her explanation of how the foundation works, and what organizations they partner with. I’m more interested in the safe houses, because that sounds like something I can really help with.

“The Board meets once a month. If you’d like to see how the operations work and where you might be able to apply your skills, we’d love to have you,” Bethany offers.

“We reconvene after the holidays. I’ll send you all the details,” Audrina explains and then stands, signaling our meeting is over.

“Thank you. I’ll be in touch,” I offer, shaking Audrina’s hand, but before I retrieve my coat, Bethany stops me.

“If you don’t mind staying, I have something Darren said you’d be interested in,” she says with a twinkle in her eyes.

8

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