Page 64 of Dead Man's Hollow
Amy laughs.
“What?”
“You hated gardening,” she tells Chloe.
“I did?”
“You did. Mom had an enormous garden, and she made us all work in it. Diana did it without complaint because that’s Diana. I liked it, so I didn’t mind. And Kristy was so much younger that we gave her all the easy jobs. But youhaaaaaatedit. In fact, the first day you were missing I thought you were staying away from the house so you wouldn’t have to help with the weeding.” Amy laughs at the memory.
“I hated it that much? I’m surprised. I love it now. It’s one of my most cherished hobbies.”
“Because it’s in your blood,” Amy guesses.
“Maybe that’s it.”
They fall silent and look out into the dark yard. After a moment, Amy says, “I was going to have a glass of wine. Care to join me?”
“Please. Maybe that’ll quiet my mind so I can actually sleep.”
Amy pours them each a precise five-ounce glass of a red table wine and they sit at the pair of armchairs in the rarely used formal living room. It’s the furthest room from the stairs, so they’re unlikely to wake anyone else.
“À ta santé.”Chloe clinks her glass gently against Amy’s.
“Cheers,” she replies. “What does that mean, what you said?” She sips her wine.
“À ta santémeans to your health.”
“When did you learn French?”
Chloe lowers her glass. “I didn’t know French?”
“No. I took Spanish. You took Russian.”
“Russian? Why?”
“You thought the teacher was cute.”
Chloe looks scandalized. Amy laughs.
“He was, though. I mean, he was as gay as the day was long. But he was easy on the eyes.”
Chloe isn’t laughing. “I don’t know Russian. Idoknow French. I spoke it fluently when I arrived in Montreal.”
“How is that possible?”
“How is any of it possible?” Chloe counters.
She has a point. Amy nods. “That’s fair.”
“I know why I can’t sleep,” Chloe says. “What’s your excuse?”
Amy hesitates. It’s so strange. This woman is both her sister and a total stranger.
Chloe hurries to give her an out. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer that.”
Amy wants to answer it. She’s been missing her truest friend. Although she loves Diana and Kristy with her whole heart, she and Heather had always been tight. They’d shared a room for years until Diana had moved out. Heather is apparently still gone, even though she’s sitting in Amy’s house, in her pajamas, drinking wine. Amy will settle for Chloe.
“Rich and I are having problems,” she admits.
