Page 18 of Rainshadow Road

Lucy had put off calling her parents about her breakup with Kevin. Not only did she need time to think about what had happened and what to do next, but also she was certain that by now Alice would have called them and put her own spin on the situation. And Lucy wasn’t going to waste her emotions or her energy on a useless battle. Her parents would take Alice’s side, and Lucy would be expected to keep her mouth shut and fade into the background.

The Marinns had moved to a condo close to Cal Tech, where Phillip was teaching part-time. They flew up to Seattle every two or three months to visit their daughters as well as keep in touch with friends and colleagues. The last time they had visited, they had been displeased to learn that a generous birthday check they had given Lucy had been spent entirely on a new Jet Ski for Kevin.

“I had hoped you’d buy something nice for yourself,” her mother had scolded Lucy gently in private. “Or gotten your car fixed up and repainted. Something for your benefit.”

“It benefits me if Kevin is happy.”

“How soon after you received that check did he mention wanting a Jet Ski?”

Nettled by the question, Lucy had replied casually, “Oh, he didn’t mention it. I was the one who came up with the idea.”

Which hadn’t been true, of course, and her mother hadn’t believed it anyway. But it had bothered Lucy to realize that her parents didn’t like her boyfriend. Now she wondered what they would make of him dumping one sister in favor of the other. If it was what Alice wanted, if it made her happy, Lucy suspected they would find a way to live with it.

However, when her mother called from Pasadena, her reaction was different from what Lucy had anticipated.

“I just talked to Alice. She told me what happened. I can’t believe it.”

“I couldn’t either, at first,” Lucy said. “Then when Kevin asked me to move out, I started believing it.”

“Were there any signs? Did you have any idea this was coming?”

“No, I had no clue.”

“Alice says that you and Kevin were having problems.”

“Apparently,” Lucy said, “the problem we were having was Alice.”

“I told Alice that your father and I are incredibly disappointed in her, and that we can’t support this kind of behavior. For her own sake.”

“Really?” Lucy asked after a moment.

“Why do you sound surprised?”

Lucy gave a disconcerted laugh. “Mom, in my entire life, I don’t ever remember hearing you or Dad say that you were disappointed in anything Alice did. I thought you and Dad were going to ask me to accept Alice’s relationship with Kevin and just get over it.”

“You lived with that man for two years. I don’t know how you could ‘just get over it.’” There was a long pause. “I can’t imagine how you got the idea that your father and I would approve of Alice’s actions.”

Her mother sounded so genuinely bewildered that Lucy couldn’t repress an incredulous laugh. “You’ve always approved of whatever Alice wanted to do, right or wrong.”

Her mother was quiet for a moment. “I admit, I’ve always tended to overindulge your sister,” she eventually said. “She’s always needed more help than you, Lucy. She’s never been as capable as you. And she was never the same after the meningitis. Mood swings and depressions…”

“Those could also have been caused by being spoiled rotten.”

“Lucy.” Her mother’s tone was reproachful.

“It’s my fault too,” Lucy said. “I’ve enabled Alice as much as everyone else. We’ve all treated her like she’s a dependent child. I’m not ruling out the possibility that she’s had to deal with some long-lasting effects from the meningitis. It’s just… at some point Alice has to be responsible for her own behavior.”

“Do you want to come to California for a visit? Get away for a couple of days? Dad and I will buy you a ticket.”

Lucy smiled at the obvious effort to change the direction of the conversation. “Thanks. That’s really sweet of you. But all I would do is sit around there and mope. I think I’m better off staying here and keeping busy.”

“Is there anything you need?”

“No, I’m fine. I’m taking it day by day. I think the tough part is going to be running into Kevin and Alice—I’m not sure how I’m going to handle that yet.”

“Hopefully Kevin will have the decency to spend time with her in Seattle, rather than insist that she visit him on the island.”

Lucy blinked, perplexed. “They’re both going to be here, Mom.”

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