Page 57 of The Banned Books Club

Wiping the tears that were still streaming down her face, she called out to Matthew. “Matthew! Go wake your brother. You two need to get dressed right away.”

He met her as she was coming out of the kitchen, on her way to throw their clothes and toiletries into suitcases and gather the extra bedding, pots and pans, plates, silverware, towels and even toilet paper she’d hidden in storage.

He gave her a funny look when he saw her red-rimmed eyes. “What’s wrong, Mommy? Did Daddy make you sad?”

“Yes,” she said. “Daddy has made me sad for a very long time.”

Stepping forward, he attempted to comfort her by hugging her leg, and she squeezed her eyes closed as she took far more solace from that gesture than he could ever know. “Thank you, baby. Mommy’s going to be okay. We’re all going to be okay. Run and get dressed.”

He pulled away. “Are we going to the park now? What about breakfast?”

“We’ll get McDonald’s. How’s that?”

“Yum!” he cried and ran ahead of her down the hall yelling, “Greydon! Get up! We’re going to McDonald’s!”

As she heard Greydon’s voice and the boys started to get dressed, Margot ran her fingers lightly down the wall—her way of saying goodbye to the house she’d tried so hard to make a home.

Gia grabbed a sweater and helped her mother into it. The rain had stopped, but it was chilly out, and Ida constantly complained of being cold. “How’s that?”

“Better,” her mother replied.

Ida had just taken a nap. She had to do that often. “Want to watch what Dad’s watching in the living room or have me turn on the TV in your bedroom?”

“Neither. Not right now. While I feel strong enough, I’d like to spend an hour working on our genealogy in the office.” She started down the hall but turned back. “What time is it?”

“Nearly three,” Gia told her.

Her mother frowned. “Margot must be busy with the boys today. I thought once Sheldon left on his hunting trip, she’d be over.”

Gia had assumed the same thing. She’d tried calling her sister, but Margot hadn’t picked up. “Maybe Sheldon’s running late. Or he decided not to go.”

“That’s possible, I guess. She doesn’t generally come over when he’s home on the weekends, so that could explain it. He wants...family time.”

Or total control, Gia thought.

“But it’s weird that she’s not answering my calls,” her mother continued.

“You’ve been trying to reach her, too?”

“I have. Three times.”

Gia checked the clock again. “I’m sure we’ll hear from her before nightfall.”

“Maybe you should drive over there...” her mother suggested.

Since Leo was home today, Gia didn’t feel quite so tied to the house, and she thought paying Margot a visit might give them a chance to talk privately. “Good idea,” she said, but once she reached her sister’s house, both Sheldon’s truck and Margot’s Subaru were gone, and no one answered the door.

She called her mother from her sister’s front stoop. “No one’s here. I’m guessing Sheldon went hunting, since his truck is gone, and Margot’s out grocery shopping or running other errands.”

“So why isn’t she picking up?”

“Maybe she forgot her phone here at the house.”

Her mother seemed to accept that, so after peering through the window to make sure everything was as it should be, Gia drove to Delia’s Big Buns on the main drag and ordered a burger. When she was living in Wakefield, half the high school hung out at Delia’s, either at lunch, while ditching class, or after the final bell. She’d loved the food and was just unwrapping her favorite menu item—the barbecue bacon cheeseburger—when she happened to glance up and see a man staring at her as he drove slowly past.

That was Mr. Hart, she realized, sitting up straighter. He’d aged, lost some hair and gone gray, but she’d know that face anywhere...

The car behind him honked, wanting him to speed up, so he gave the aging Blazer he was driving some gas. But a few minutes later, he drove by again, going in the opposite direction.

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