Page 83 of Between Desire and Denial

Franny immediately sat down in front of the TV and turned it on to watch cartoons. Lucille hummed about in her giant kitchen, moving around a few jars to pull out a cookie for Franny. Then, she turned toward me, her hand a little shaky as she asked, “Want a cookie, Olive?”

“No thank you.” I cleared my throat and glanced around, trying to not make eye contact with either of them.

Lucille’s house was immaculate with pretty little statues everywhere, not a speck of dust on any of them. She had antique furnishings that seemed to fit her personality perfectly. It was clear she’d been collecting beautiful pieces for years. Gold-framed art adorned every wall and matched some of her painted wood furniture.

I’d never really taken a moment to see everything she had here, though, because she kept her and Earl’s life pretty private, which I now questioned more as I saw how her embroidered drapes were drawn shut.

“You had to have heard something if you were listening, Olive.”

“Jameson, you know how I am.” I chuckled nervously. “I just heard something and wanted to see what it was. I’d got to the corner of Melly’s hedges and, well, you know.”

He was searching my face for the lie, and I remembered Esme’s words. I suddenly knew I couldn’t just sit there and let him interrogate me. I’d crack.

Lucille came over to pat my shoulder. “She’s fine, Jameson.” It was her mother hen tone, the one she used on most of us in the community and we all sort of fell in line when she did. “Ifshe heard anything, she would have told us. Honestly, it was just me and Jameson discussing a bad stock trade that he and Earl made. A bit embarrassing, but nothing to get worked up about, right?”

Jameson squinted at her.

“She grew up with you, Jameson. She’s not going to think any less of you, right, Olive?” Now Lucille looked at me with a wobbly smile. “With that curiosity you have, though, I should have you helping me write theParadise Grove Newsevery single quarter. Not just the next. Would you like to? We could get together maybe on Monday and talk out your next article along with other things?”

“Well, I have my thesis to work on, and I’m starting to do hair at the salon—” I stumbled over my words just as the doorbell rang.

“What do you think, Jameson?” Lucille asked as she walked to the door.

“I think that’s a very good idea.” He crossed his arms and stared at me like I was suddenly a criminal rather than his friend.

“Oh, Dimitri, hi,” Lucille announced, and Dimitri peered in. His muscles tensed when he saw Jameson and me at the table.

“There you are,” he said slowly as his eyes ping-ponged between us.

“Yes, Jameson and Olive were just catching up. Franny wanted to come over for a cookie.”

Franny held it up at the TV and didn’t even look our way.

“Olive, I have an early flight in the morning.”

“Right, and I’m starting to get a migraine. We should get going,” I said as I rubbed at my temples. Truly, I was starting to see spots as my alcohol wore off and my mind raced. I shoved the chair back fast. “I have to stop back over at Melly’s to grab my cover-up and—”

He held up my things. “Got them, Honeybee. Said bye to your family too. Time to go home toourbed.”

Jameson scoffed but he got up and gave me a hug as he whispered, “I’ll be texting you about meeting for lunch very soon.”

Chapter Thirty

DIMITRI

“You really getting a migraine?”I asked her, immediately concerned that the birth control change hadn’t worked.

“No.” She shook her head quickly. “It was just a way to get out of there.”

“So, you didn’t want to catch up with—” I stopped my question as we walked across the street to our house, and instead we both stared at the large box in front of our door.

“I think that’s our mattress.”

I sucked on my teeth before nodding, not wanting to think about having her sleep on it upstairs tonight or any other night. “I’ll bring it in tomorrow morning.”

She shook her head and I saw how her walls were being built right back up again. I knew we’d torn down a barrier between us in the woods but this mattress was going to ruin everything. And then she said, “We should get it in tonight. I can help you after I change.”

I sighed. “No. I’m fine bringing it in myself, Olive.”