Chương 10
Clara learned these things because people kept telling her.
She did not ask.
Two weeks after Thanksgiving, Richard called while Clara was grocery shopping.
“I’m at the house,” he said.
Clara pushed her cart past canned soup.
“Why?”
“To collect my records and clothes. Your mother changed the locks.”
“Are you inside?”
“No.”
“Call your attorney.”
“I did. She said because I’m a tenant and this is the marital residence, I have options, but she advised against forcing entry while Marjorie is agitated.”
“That sounds sensible.”
“I need my medication.”
Clara stopped beside a display of cereal.
“Is it urgent?”
“No. I have enough through tomorrow.”
“Then go to the pharmacy and request an emergency supply.”
“They already closed.”
“Call the after-hours line.”
“I did.”
“What do you want from me?”
Silence.
Clara closed her eyes.
Richard said, “I don’t know.”
A toddler in the cart beside her dropped a box of crackers. His mother picked it up without reacting.
Clara lowered her voice.
“Dad, I’m not coming to break into the house.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“You called because you wanted me to know where you were until I volunteered.”
He breathed out.
“Yes.”
“Call Elise.”
“She’s at a concert.”
“Call Serena.”
“She isn’t speaking to your mother.”
“Then call a locksmith after your attorney confirms it’s appropriate.”
“Would you stay on the phone?”
Clara looked at the shelves.
“No.”
The answer hurt both of them.
Richard said, “All right.”
“I’ll call you in an hour.”
“Thank you.”
“That’s not the same as staying.”
“I know.”
Clara bought eggs, detergent, toothpaste, and a box of coffee she did not like because it was on sale.
An hour later, Richard answered from his studio. A locksmith had opened the door after reviewing his identification and lease. Marjorie had not been home. He retrieved the medication and three suits. He left the family photographs because he did not know which ones belonged to him.
“Photographs can be copied,” Clara said.
“Yes.”
“Take what you need next time.”
“There may not be a next time.”
“Then decide what you need before you go.”
He was quiet.
“You make everything sound simple.”
“No. I make it sound like a decision.”
“That’s what I meant.”
Near Christmas, Cascade scheduled a property inspection after receiving notice that the tenants planned to surrender the house at the end of January rather than contest further action. Richard had signed the surrender agreement.
Marjorie had not.
She continued telling everyone that Clara would resume payments before the deadline.
Clara did not.
The account balance remained untouched.
On December twenty-third, Serena appeared at the base visitor center without an appointment. Security called Clara rather than allowing her through.
Clara met her outside.
Serena wore a wool coat and no engagement ring.
“Did you lose it?” Clara asked.
Serena tucked her hands into her pockets.
“I gave it back.”
Clara looked at her face.
“Is it over?”
“I don’t know.”
They walked toward a bench overlooking the water. The air smelled of salt, fuel, and cold metal.
Serena sat.
“Daniel said he loves me but doesn’t trust the version of himself he became around my family.”
“What does that mean?”
“He liked the house. He liked Mom introducing him to people. He liked thinking we were getting a hundred twenty thousand dollars. He says he didn’t ask questions because the answers were convenient.”
Clara sat beside her.
“That sounds familiar.”
“He said that too.”
A gull landed near a trash can and watched them with open suspicion.
Serena rubbed her bare ring finger.
“Mom asked me to move into the house.”
“Why?”
“So she won’t be alone.”
“Are you going to?”
“No.”
“Have you told her?”
“Yes.”
“How did she take it?”
“She said you poisoned me.”
Clara looked toward the gray water.
Serena’s mouth twisted. “I told her she didn’t need help.”
They sat without speaking.
A service vehicle passed behind them, tires crunching over gravel.
Serena said, “I found another account.”
Clara turned.
“It’s in Mom’s name. The transfers Dad saw went there.”
“How much is in it?”
“Sixty-eight thousand.”
Clara felt no relief.
“Where did it come from?”
“Mostly their checking account. Some from the money Dad thought went to his business. Some from wedding transfers she didn’t give me.”
“What does she say it’s for?”
“She says it’s security.”
“For whom?”
“Herself.”
The gull hopped closer.
Serena continued. “She said she knew Dad would leave if he ever found out the truth, and she needed something he couldn’t take.”
“Did you tell Dad?”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
“He laughed.”
Clara frowned.
“Not because it was funny. It was just one sound. Then he sat down on the floor.”
Clara looked away.
Serena pulled a folded tissue from her pocket and twisted it around one finger.
“I thought you’d be happy.”
“Why?”
“Because it proves she could have paid some of the rent.”
“It proves she planned for the collapse.”
“Same difference.”
“No.”
Serena watched a ferry move in the distance.
“What happens now?”
“Dad’s attorney handles the accounts.”
“I mean to us.”
Clara picked at a loose thread on her glove.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not like you.”
“It’s more like me than you think.”
Serena glanced at her.
“I was awful to you.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have to agree that fast.”
“You weren’t asking.”
Serena gave a short laugh, then covered her mouth.
The laugh became a breath she could not control. Her shoulders shook once. She looked angry about it.
Clara did not hug her.
After a while, she handed Serena the clean handkerchief she kept in her jacket pocket.
Serena took it.
“I don’t deserve this,” she said.
“It’s a piece of cloth.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes.”
On Christmas Day, Clara worked a duty rotation.
May you like
She preferred it.
The mess served turkey again, along with mashed potatoes that held the shape of the serving scoop. Someone taped a paper Santa hat to a ventilation duct. Bennett received a package of homemade cookies and complained that his mother had included raisins.
