Page 43 of The Banned Books Club

“Enough that she couldn’t continue to live with him but not enough to try to convinceus.” And neither was he in a position to try to convince Louisa or Edith or anyone else. He had no answers, just more questions. And if they were at peace with the opinions they held, so be it. They could easily be right; why challenge them?

The bell rang over the front door in the lobby. Louisa looked back when she heard it, then lowered her voice. “You’re wrong, Cormac. You’re making a big mistake.”

He wished he could be that confident. Instead, he found himself in no-man’s-land—suddenly on neither side. He was doing his best to regain his conviction, but the more he dug into the problem, the more uncertain he became. “Maybe that’s true,” he said. “But I have to be honest with myself and everyone else.”

12

Gia hadn’t heard from Sammie since that call the day after they’d had drinks together. She hadn’t heard from Ruth, either. She kept thinking one of them would reach out, but she understood what was keeping them away. Ruth would feel disloyal to Edith, and Sammie would feel disloyal to Ruth, and since Sammie and Ruth had to live with each other—and the Harts—on a day-to-day basis, they were probably more concerned with protecting those relationships.

Evan Hart had maintained the same narrative for so long, the people in Wakefield had begun to accept his version of events, and any doubt or sympathy that’d once favored her was gone. Maybe that didn’t matter so much when she was in Alaska or Coeur d’Alene, doing her own thing. Then she could talk to Sammie and Ruth, and any relationship they had with Edith and Louisa didn’t play a role. But it was a completely different story now that she was back in town. They felt torn, as though they had to choose.

“You’re quiet today,” her mother commented as they played a game of gin rummy. Her father had gone to the office after breakfast and probably wouldn’t be back until dinner. He seemed grateful for the chance to take care of the things he’d had to let languish. It was about time she came through, but the fact that sheshouldbe here didn’t mean it was easy to stay.

“Just worried about Margot,” she said. The dynamic she’d witnessed in her sister’s kitchen last night had been curious. Margot had seemed so eager to talk to her about something—and yet she’d immediately sided with Sheldon when he’d entered the kitchen and made it clear he wanted Gia to leave. But Gia was also feeling bad about losing her oldest friends over an incident that wasn’t even her fault. Although she’d kicked herself for years for ever going to Mr. Hart’s house, there was no way she could’ve foreseen what he was going to do. Yes, she’d been aware of his partiality and was flattered by it. She and her friends had long talked about the cutest teacher in school. But she’d never dreamed of getting physical with him. He’d done so much to support her book club that she’d trusted him even more than her other teachers. And he’d betrayed that trust.

When she was in therapy—before she’d quit college and gone to Alaska to try to heal herself with freedom and time away—her psychologist had told her, again and again, that Mr. Hart was the one to blame. Her English teacher had set her up. He’d given her a low grade on purpose, had known it would drive her right into his trap. She needed to forgive herself for being so gullible.

But she couldn’t tell her heart how to feel; it just felt what it felt, and what it felt was regret. She could’ve avoided all the trouble and the pain she’d been through—and the trouble and pain so many others had been through—if only she hadn’t gone to his house that night.

“I’ve been worried about her, too,” Ida admitted. “The light’s gone out of her eyes. She’s preoccupied, nervous, always keeping one eye on her phone or the clock when she comes over.”

“You’ve noticed?” Gia said.

Ida nibbled thoughtfully on her bottom lip. “How can I miss it?”

“And you haven’t asked her what’s wrong?”

“I’ve tried. She insists it’s nothing.”

“It seemed as if she was going to tell me something last night, but then Sheldon came into the room.”

Ida frowned.

“What is it?” Gia asked.

“I think he’s having an affair,” she replied while stroking Miss Marple, who rarely left her side and had crept into her lap while they were playing.

Gia lowered her cards. “Are you serious? He’d risk losing Margot by getting involved with another woman?”

“I don’t know. I hope not.”

“What makes you think he’s cheating?” Gia asked, leaning forward.

Ida played a card. “A couple of things.”

“Like...”

Her mother sighed. “He’s become sort of...distant—rarely comes over these days. And the way he and Margot act when theyarehere together is... I don’t know how to describe it. Cool. Strained.”

It was Gia’s turn. She played, then chose her discard. “Who could he be cheating with?”

“His old girlfriend.”

“Cece?”

Ida nodded. “You remember her?”

“Of course. They were an item all the way through high school. I’ve often wished they’d gotten married.”

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