Page 19 of Patio Lanterns

“We?” Robin questioned.

“Lark’s here, and she brought Nova with her. She’s getting so big, Rob. And she’s so freakin’ cute my ovaries ache.”

“What? No Phil the Pill?” That was strange. Lark’s jerk of a husband was always lurking.

Dove shook her head. “It’ll just be us girls. Not like we’ll be sad about Phil not joining us, will we?”

“True. But I am allowing one rooster in the henhouse.” Robin looked down at Mutt. He was wagging his tail, politely waiting to be introduced to the nice lady in case she had a spare hot dog in her purse. “Meet Mutt Lange.”

“Well, hello there.” Dove placed her hands on her knees and bent down low, instantly recoiling and bouncing back up. “Holy shit, Rob, does he reek!”

“Yeah, I just bought stuff to fix that.”

Dove grimaced, pressing the back of her hand to her nose. “Gah, you might be better off shaving him right down.”

“Think I’ll try shampoo first.”

“Fine, but you know you can’t bring him inside Mom’s cottage stinking like that. She would have a freaking conniption.”

“Mom’s not here,” Robin reminded her.

“Try telling her that.” Dove thumbed over her shoulder. “She’s sitting in the back propped up next to Nova.”

Robin’s sick mind conjured up a Weekend at Bernie’s scenario. “She is?”

“The urn holding her cremains is in the backseat,” Dove clarified.

Ahhh. She hadn’t even thought about how their mother’s ashes were getting to the lake, but rightly assumed that one or both of her sisters would take care of it. “Well, I guess I’ll head to the cottage first. By chance, do you have a key to get in?”

Dove’s eyebrows fell. “Let me guess. You lost yours?”

“I never had one,” Robin said.

“Okay, well, just grab the spare.”

Robin gave her a sheepish smirk. “Remind me of where that is?”

“Magnetic key keeper on the underside of the bird feeder in the backyard.”

Oh, the underside of the feeder. She hadn’t thought of looking there. “Great. Thanks, sis. See you in a few.”

Dove slipped by Robin and Mutt as they stepped outside into the sunshine. The only other vehicle in the lot besides her rust-eaten van was a luxury Land Rover. Figures that’s what Dove would drive in cottage country.

Lark sat up front in the passenger seat, the dark fringes of her blunt bangs falling around her eyes as she stared at her phone. Being at the top of the Pelletier Pecking Order—first came Lark, then Dove, and finally, Robin—had served her well. She never failed to remind her sisters that as the eldest, she had special privileges: the first turn of any game, the biggest slice of cake, a bedroom to herself at the cottage, and especially the right to boss her sisters around.

At least by the age of thirty-four, she’d started using her evil powers for good. Lark was a resident at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, which famously had one of the best stroke facilities in the country. The opportunity to work there had attracted her after their father’s sudden passing. It had been a whirlwind three years for Lark—getting settled into her residency, and then meeting and marrying Philip, a renowned dick doctor, before quickly adding motherhood to her growing list of accomplishments. It totally fit the script because her overbearing maternal instinct had prematurely aged her long before she could legally buy a two-four of beer.

Robin gently tapped on the tinted window, barely open a crack. “What’s up, doc?”

“Jesus!” Lark clutched her chest. “Oh…! Robin! Hi. Sorry.”

“Hi.” Robin smiled as the window lowered. “Dove said you were out here.”

“She picked us up at the airport yesterday. Made more sense to drive up together rather than rent a second vehicle,” Lark told her.

“You look well,” Robin said, despite noticing that her eyes were puffy.

Lark managed a smile but skipped over returning the courtesy. “Thanks for making time to come to the lake, Robin. It would’ve made Mom happy knowing the three of us were doing this together.”

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