Page 7 of The Summer Request
The highlight of the entire little property was a handful of lavender bushes that would’ve been taller than Val were she not wearing four-inch heels.
“Come in. Hurry up, you’re letting all the bugs in,” Tammy said, waving a hand from the front door.
Val forced a smile as they stepped inside. Somehow the house seemed even smaller than she remembered it, and she’d never thought it was all that big.
“What kind of tea do you want?” Tammy asked, thumping toward the kitchen with her cane.
“What kind do you have?” asked Lisa, walking ahead.
“Lipton.”
Lisa maintained her airy, upbeat tone. “Lipton would be great.”
They sat at the kitchen table, and though it was different than the one from their childhood, Val still somehow felt like she was a little girl again, in trouble for putting firecrackers where they didn’t belong.
“Did you see him there? I can’t believe the nerve.” Tammy slammed a teakettle onto the stove.
“Who, exactly?” asked Val.
“The distinguished Mr. Louis Emerald, of course,”
Val had the impression that if Tammy weren’t in her own kitchen, she would’ve spat.
“I wasn’t sure he’d come,” Michelle said.
“If he had any decency, he wouldn’t have.” She lit a cigarette, the flame smoldering in her eyes. “Brought that teenager with him. Disgusting.”
The woman had a point. Val made a grunt of agreement.
“Don’t think on it,” Lisa said. “I wouldn’t.”
“Don’t think on it? That man killed my daughter.”
Val looked down at her hands. She was never quite as good at handling Tammy as Lisa was. It seemed she still didn’t have that skill, even decades later.
“I know you’re grieving, but – ”
Tammy cut her off. “Of course I’m grieving, but I’m not stupid. Justine was healthy. She was young. How can a daughter die before her mother? What kind of tragedy is that? Do you know what kind of nightmare that is?”
Lisa pinched her lips together. “I can’t imagine.”
“He took out an insurance policy on her when they were married. Did you know that?”
Michelle, using her best calming voice, said, “I’m sure that was sorted in the divorce.”
The teakettle started a quiet whistle, and Val jumped to tend to it. The sooner they drank the tea, the sooner they could get out of here.
Tammy paid her no attention. “They cremated her before I even knew she was dead. Can you imagine?”
Val frowned. Sounded like something her own soon-to-be ex-husband would do. All he cared about now was his twenty-two-year-old girlfriend. Twenty-two! She was less than half his age!
“How have you been doing, Mrs. Miller?” asked Lisa, reaching out to grab her hand. “Have you been keeping busy?”
Tammy shrugged her off. “I’m always busy. Justine was busy, too. She could never visit, like the rest of you. Now we have all manner of freaks moving to the island, blasting their music and – ”
Val plopped the teas onto the table. “Where’s the sugar, Mrs. Miller?”
She paused, staring in Val’s general direction. “What do you need sugar for? You’re not little girls anymore. You can’t be wasting sugar to put into tea. Does everything have to be sweet?”
