Page 93 of The House on Prytania

“Who is it?”

“It’s Sarah. Can I come in?”

I slipped from the bed and unlocked the door before pulling it open. The light from my bedside lamp lit her pale face and wide eyes. “Are you all right?”

She stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her and relocking it. “Yes. I just...” Sarah looked past me to the giant bed. “Do you think there’s room for both of us in your bed?”

“Since Mardi’s not here, yes. Otherwise you’d have to duke it out with him.”

She took a running leap for the bed and buried herself under the covers so only her face on the pillow was visible.

I crawled in beside her. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure. I couldn’t get to sleep, so I was just thinking.”

“Me, too.” I hesitated, not wanting to hear that she and I had been thinking in tandem. “You first.”

“Well, one thing is just a random observation. The other thing is a little more... dark.”

“Let’s start with the random observation. So I can prepare.”

“Good plan. So, remember how at home Mom and Dad have about a million photos of you, me, and JJ all over the house, and Mrs. Houlihan complains because it makes it hard to dust?”

“Go on.”

“Well, did you notice how there are hardly any family photos here? Just a few of Michael on a boat or water-skiing, and a couple of Mr. and Mrs. Hebert, but there’s only one photo of their daughter, and it’s from when she was really little.”

There was a quiet knock on the door, and when Sarah remained under the covers without moving, I slid from the bed with a heavy sigh and went to open it.

Jolene quickly stepped into the bedroom. “Can I come in? That crying baby is keeping me awake.”

“What baby?” I asked.

Sarah sat up. “I heard it, too!”

They both looked at me. “I didn’t hear anything, and I’ve been awake the whole time.”

“That happens sometimes,” Sarah explained. “You don’t have to be psychic to hear stuff.”

“Then why didn’t I hear it?”

Sarah shrugged as she settled back onto her pillow, and Jolene made herself comfortable on the pretty floral chaise longue near the bed. “If I understood how this worked, I’d be a millionaire. Just go with it. Because when you think you’ve figured out how something works one time, it will be different the next. Guaranteed.”

Jolene pulled the blanket from the back of the chaise and wrapped it around her. “I’m not one to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help but hear what you were talking about before I knocked—about the family pictures. I noticed it, too. But I did see that in the one photo of Felicity she has a huge bow in her hair. And you know—”

“The bigger the bow, the more your mama loves you,” Sarah and I finished for her.

“Y’all sure catch on fast. I’m very proud of you.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Assuming it’s true, she’s loved by hermother—whether her biological mother or the woman who raised her. I’m guessing it’s the latter. I don’t think any woman who loved her daughter would voluntarily surrender her to be raised by another family member to pursue a calling. I mean, why not bring your children with you?”

“Who knows?” The covers moved as I felt Sarah shrug. “Adults are weird.”

I thought for a moment. “This is their beach house, not their main house, so I wouldn’t expect the number of family photos here that they probably have at their New Orleans home. And Felicity has lived out of state since she was first sent to boarding school, and now she lives and works in New York City. It would make sense that there are more photos of Michael than Felicity. He’s also older than she is, so he’s been around longer and had more opportunities to have his picture taken.”

Sarah was silent for a moment. “Yeah, that makes sense. Just like how Mom and Dad have a million more pictures of you than me and JJ.”

“As it should be,” I said smugly. “Since I’m the favorite child.”