“You know.”
“No, I don’t know. Explain the vicious rumors.”
Ava straightened in her chair and glared at Ellie. “Fine. People are saying I broke up your engagement.”
“I don’t understand how people in town would know that,” Annie said. “Who would have told them?”
“No one had to tell them,” Ava said. “Mom had spread the word about John before Ellie ever brought him home. All of her friends knew she was bringing him to meet the family. They had to wonder why he was suddenly marrying me and not her.”
“But that’s not so awful,” Annie protested. “That wouldn’t necessarily ruin your reputation.”
Ava scoffed. “That’s not all. Someone, and I don’t know who it was but I’m guessing it was Mom’s best friend, Mrs. Grimes-you know Mom had to confide in someone-anyway, someone spread the rumor that John and I were found in a… compromising position the day after Ellie brought him home.”
“Didn’t that happen?” Annie asked. “I wasn’t here, but Mom said-”
“Whose side are you on?” Ava demanded.
“I’m not on anyone’s side. I’m simply asking if it really happened. Did it, or didn’t it?”
“That isn’t relevant,” Ava snapped.
“I guess I’ll have to ask John,” Annie said.
“You keep him out of this. Yes, okay, I did have sex with John while he was engaged to Ellie, but I don’t think anyone needs to know about it.”
“So it’s the truth, not a rumor. You do know the difference,” Annie said.
“Look at you,” Ava said. “Just finished law school, and you think you’re a prosecutor. Quit interrogating me.” Her voice reeked of sarcasm.
“I’m simply asking you how you can call the truth a rumor,” Annie persisted.
“Because I want to.” Ava raised her voice to a shout. “I am determined to quell these vicious rumors because I have to live in this town, and I don’t want people talking about me behind my back, saying terrible things about my character.”
Annie looked at Ellie and rolled her eyes. “Ava, are you sorry for what you did to Ellie?”
“No, of course not. Why should I be sorry? It was meant to be. John loves me, and I love him.” She pushed away from the table and stood. “I’m going to check the backyard again before John and I leave. I probably won’t get back here until the garden party, but if I need anything, I’ll call you.”
Annie and Ellie watched Ava until she’d disappeared into the kitchen. Annie was the first to start laughing, but Ellie quickly joined in. The two sisters began to clear the table.
“Should we ask Ava to help do the dishes?” Ellie asked innocently.
They shared another good laugh.
“Remember when we were kids? Ava always had something more important to do whenever it was time for chores,” Annie said.
“I remember,” Ellie said. “After I left, you got stuck with all the work. I don’t understand why Mother didn’t make Ava do her share.”
“It was easier not to argue with her.”
Ellie stacked the dinner plates and carried them into the kitchen. Annie followed with glasses.
“I haven’t said congratulations to you for finishing law school,” Ellie said.
“I’m not a lawyer yet, not until I know I’ve passed the bar. I told Mom and Dad we couldn’t celebrate until then.”
“Do you know what you want to do?”
“I liked the antitrust courses I took. That area interests me. I’m kind of at a crossroads, I guess. I thought I had my future all mapped out, but now everything’s changed.”
Before Ellie could ask her to explain, Annie went back into the dining room to finish clearing the table. Ellie stood at the sink rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.
“I couldn’t do what you do,” Annie said as she handed Ellie a platter. “Cutting into bodies. Just thinking about all that blood makes me sick.”
“The coolest thing happened a couple of weeks ago.” She told her sister about a case she found fascinating, but Annie appeared to be grossed out. “He swallowed coins? Why?”
“He couldn’t explain why. Eleven dollars and fifteen cents.”
“All change?”
“Yes,” she said. She laughed at Annie’s expression. “It weighed a lot, but he didn’t rupture. Then there was this man who got into a knife fight. Those can be nasty,” she explained as she continued to rinse salad plates. “His femoral artery was nicked and blood started spurting everywhere. I plugged the hole with my finger while…” She stopped when Annie gagged. “Queasy stomach?” she teased.
“I don’t know how you do it. Don’t you ever get sick?”
“Oh yes,” she said. “I throw up on patients all the time.” She thought what she’d said was funny, but Annie didn’t laugh.
“Blood makes me gag,” she said. “Where does Mom keep her plastic bags for leftovers?”
“Third drawer down,” she answered.
Annie put the platter of leftover chicken on the table and searched the drawer. She held up a bread bag and smiled. “She still saves these. She used to put our sandwiches in them to take to school for lunch.”
“Mom saves everything. There’s a drawer with nothing but rubber bands, paper clips, and twist ties.”
Annie put the chicken in the refrigerator and said, “Tell me about Max.”
Ellie leaned back against the sink and wiped her hands on a dish towel. “What do you want to know? That I’m starting to panic because I can feel myself getting more and more attached to him? Leaving him is going to be painful.”
“Then don’t leave him.”
“He lives in Honolulu.”
“Oh.”
“ ‘Oh’ is right,” she said. “I’ve got to figure out a way to distance myself. You’re so practical, Annie. Any ideas on how I can do that?”
“Let me think about it,” she answered. She glanced out the window. “Here comes Ava,” she whispered.
“We had twenty minutes without listening to wedding plans, and I’m thankful for that,” Ellie said.
Ava didn’t stop to talk to her sisters. She walked through the house and went to sit with the others on the front porch.
Annie and Ellie had just finished cleaning the kitchen when their mother joined them. She took one look at Annie and said, “Go up to bed. You’re exhausted. Say good night to your father,” she added.
“Where’s Max?” Ellie asked.
“He’s in your father’s office. I think all the wedding talk spooked him. Now, Ellie…”
“Yes?” she asked suspiciously.
“I want you to go over the guest list for the wedding with me. I’m worried sick I’ve left out a relative.” She went to a cabinet drawer and pulled out a thick notebook.
Annie left the kitchen before Ellie could ask her to stay and help.
Sighing, Ellie pulled out a chair at the table and sat beside her mother. “Isn’t it too late to add another guest?”
“I’ve got extra invitations. If I’ve missed someone, I’ll simply tell them that their invitation was returned. A little lie is better than hurting someone’s feelings.”
What her mother was asking of her didn’t make any sense. Ellie had left home when she was twelve. She didn’t even remember half her relatives. She decided to humor her mother, though, because she knew the stress of having everything perfect for Ava’s wedding was wearing on her.
It turned out to be a pleasant task. Ellie would read a name while her mother crossed it off the list. If she couldn’t remember the people, her mother would tell her a story about them. It made Ellie feel more connected to her family, and when she did remember an aunt or an uncle or a cousin, her mother was so pleased.
They sat together until almost ten o’clock when Ava and John came in to say good-bye. Her mother and father were clearly worn-out and headed to bed. Ellie went into the living room and read a magazine while she waited for Max. Annie walked in a minute later.