Page 50 of The Banned Books Club

The things she’d said before—a couple of comments to his mother—were desperate attempts to get some help with him. She’d thought if anyone could encourage him to be a good husband, it would be the woman who’d raised him. But in Peggy’s eyes, Sheldon could do no wrong. So all she’d done was tell him what Margot had said.

“I have to go,” she said and meant more than just getting off the phone. The brief flicker of hope she’d felt when she saw his truck parked near Cece’s was gone. Once again, she saw her options dwindle down to one—disappearing while he was out of town. The only way to protect herself and be sure he wouldn’t take her children away from her was to take them away from him first.

When her phone rang, Gia was shocked to see that Ruth was trying to reach her and immediately thought of Cormac. She was dying to tell both Ruth and Sammie that even Mr. Hart’s son believed her now, but she hated the idea of him suffering a huge backlash just because he was finally willing to open his heart and his mind to her side of the story.

Assuming Ruth was calling to say she wouldn’t be attending the Banned Books Club reunion, after all, Gia started toward the back door. She’d just made vegetarian chili with corn bread and served a bowl to her mother and sister for lunch, so they were within hearing distance, and Gia didn’t want them listening to the conversation. She’d rather not have either one of them pick up on the fact that her friends were deserting her.

Telling them she’d be back in a minute, she walked out by the pool. “Hello?”

“Gia, it’s Ruth.”

Gia already knew that, of course. But she supposed it was a place to start. “What’s going on?”

“Listen, we’ve been friends for so long. I—I don’t want Edith or Louisa to come between us. So... I’m sorry I said what I did at the restaurant.”

“I appreciate the apology, Ruth, but if you think I’d destroy a man’s life over a grade—even at seventeen—you can’t hold too high an opinion of me, so I’m not convinced we could ever be friends again.”

Ruth seemed taken aback that she wouldn’t simply accept the apology. “Well, I just think... I think no matter who was to blame, what happened was unfortunate. I’d rather not even form an opinion on it.”

She was still trying to maintain a connection to both sides; her words made that clear. “Meaning you don’t know who to believe.”

“Meaning I don’t care either way, G. If Mr. Hart did what you said, he’s been punished, okay?”

Gia walked to the fence and peered over. She assumed Cormac was at the clinic, but she couldn’t help looking at his house periodically during the day. She was so stunned by what’d happened there and the sudden shift in her feelings toward him—resentment to relief in minutes. “Because you think there’s a chance I’m lying, and I’m not! How would you feel if you were in my shoes?”

“I have no doubt I’d feel terrible. But have some sympathy for the rest of us. We weren’t there that night, G. We have two people we care about—in my case, you and Louisa—telling us very different stories. I think you’re expecting too much if you think we should base a decision like that on who we love the most. Isn’t that what you’re accusing Edith, Louisa and Cormac of doing? Being blind to the truth because of their love for their father?”

She had a point, although Cormac was no longer doing that. Maybe shewasexpecting too much of her friends, especially when they had to continue living in Wakefield and bump into the Harts at spin class and other places in town after she returned to Coeur d’Alene. “Fine,” she said. “We’ll leave it in the past.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry that...that I can’t give you more support.”

She could live without Ruth’s belief and trust, she told herself. She was strong enough on her own. She just needed to be able to get along with everyone while she was here; she was all for anything that made that easier. “No problem.”

“I appreciate you trying to understand. But...that isn’t the only reason I called.”

Gia rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, you can’t make the Banned Books Club reunion...”

This response met with silence. Then Ruth said, “I’m still coming to the reunion, G.”

“Won’t you have to answer to Edith at spin class if you do?”

“I’m trying to be fair to both sides,” she reiterated.

Maybe she was. But Gia knew it was going to cost her. She no longer felt as close to Ruth as she did before, and if Ruth attended the reunion and continued their friendship, Edith would no doubt feel the same way. It was sad that what’d happened so long ago still had such an impact on the present. The ripples seemed to go on and on, which was exactly the reason Gia had been loath to return. “Got it. Okay. Sorry. So...what’s the other reason you called?”

“I hate to tell you this when you’re already going through so much, but...I think your sister’s husband is having an affair.”

Gia had heard the same thing from her own mother. Tongues had to be wagging all over town for news of it to have reached Ruth. She was hoping for an opportunity to broach the subject with her sister, but so far, they’d just been visiting with Ida and having lunch.

Hoping for more information, Gia acted surprised. “You think that idiot’s cheating?”

“That’s what I hear.”

“With whom?”

“Cecelia Sonderman.”

The same name her mother had given her, of course.

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