French Braid(44)

“There’s not much to tell,” Alice said. “This thank-you note came from Greta saying—hold on.” There was a brief fumbling sound at the other end of the line. “Saying, ‘Dear Alice, Thank you for the delicious Easter dinner. I enjoyed meeting all of you.’ New paragraph. ‘David and I would like you to know that after school yesterday, we were married. Emily was our only guest, because we did not want a fuss. I hope you will wish us happiness. Sincerely, Greta Thornton Garrett.’?”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Well, okay,” Lily said after a pause. “I guess they had a right to do this the way they wanted.”

“No forewarning,” Alice said, “no prior announcement. What, were they worried we’d crash the wedding? And then who is it who tells us, finally? Greta! Not even David! Greta tells us! I feel like I’ve just gotten word of his death.”

“Oh, Alice!”

“I haven’t told Mom and Dad yet. I haven’t even told Kevin. It’s like I’m thinking if I don’t say it aloud, it didn’t happen.”

“Did you call David?”

“David?”

“Did you call to congratulate him?”

“Are you nuts? Honestly, Lily. I know you’re not as invested as I am; you were always jealous of him because up till he came along you’d been the youngest. But don’t you see how hurtful this is? I don’t know if I’ll ever again feel the same way about him.”

“I wasn’t jealous!” Lily said.

“Oh, now she’s going to get all prickly,” Alice said, no doubt addressing the ceiling.

“I was fine with him being the youngest! I mean…Look, Alice, think of what Morris said. Shouldn’t we just feel happy that David’s found somebody?”

“That he’s found a divorcée three times his age who could barely be troubled to speak to us?”

Lily started laughing.

“What,” Alice said.

“The poor woman has one foot in the grave, to hear you tell it,” Lily said. “She can’t be that old.”

“She’s ancient. And I honestly do not know where she comes from.”

“She comes from Minnesota,” Lily said.

“But what is her story? How did she end up here?”

“She had an unfortunate first marriage of some kind and they divorced and she moved east with her daughter. Period,” Lily said. “I don’t see the problem.”

“You’re just saying that because you want to look more open-minded than me,” Alice told her.

“I am more open-minded than you.”

“While I, on the other hand, am concerned about David’s happiness.”

Lily said, “All I’m saying is, Morris thinks—”

“Morris thinks our family is narrow and unfriendly and judgmental; I know,” Alice said. “I’ve heard all about it.”

“No,” Lily said, “Morris thinks maybe Greta was acting like she did because she was feeling nervous. He says maybe she’s someone we’ll like, by and by.”

And then she said, “If you insist on finishing my sentences for me, couldn’t you at least finish them right?”

She slammed the phone down. She smoothed her hair and tucked her shirt in and went back to the TV room.



* * *



—

She waited for a commercial break before she told Morris. She said, “Guess what Alice had to say.”

“She’s leaving Kevin?” Morris suggested.

“No, silly.”

“They’re moving to a row house in Govans?”

“Very funny.”

“Ssh!” Robby told them, because he liked to pay rapt attention even to the commercials.

“David and Greta got married,” Lily said.

Robby swiveled his head to stare at her. Morris said, “Really!”

“Greta wrote Alice a thank-you note and just happened to mention the fact.”

“But they didn’t invite us!” Robby wailed.

“Well, it wasn’t a wedding wedding, sounds like. Still,” Lily said to Morris, “they must have known they were going to get married when they were here for Easter. Why didn’t they at least tell us?”

“They probably didn’t want a scene,” Morris said.

“We wouldn’t have made a scene!”

“No,” he said, “but maybe David worried one of you would say something that sounded…unwelcoming.”

“We’d have been very welcoming! We even had the champagne ready!”

“You did?” Morris blinked.

“We’re not cold sticks, you know.”

“Hey! You-all!” Robby protested, because the Hulk was on the screen again.

Lily stood up and went back out to the kitchen. The quiet there was a relief, after the blare of the TV. She sat down at the table and reached for the address book that dangled on a string from the wall phone.

Didn’t it say it all, that she didn’t know her own brother’s number! She looked it up and dialed it, and then she sat back in her chair and listened to the ringing at the other end of the line.