Suddenly Psychic (Glimmer Lake #1)(43)

Robin felt her throat tighten up. “When I was Austin’s age, I thought I was going to be an artist. I’m not an artist, Monica. Not even close.”

“Wrong. I think you need to be doing more of your own drawing and painting because it’s past time for you to take time for yourself again, but you make home an art. For yourself and for every one of your customers. That’s a beautiful thing, Robin.”

“Knock knock, bitches!” Val walked through the door and caught Robin’s glassy eyes. “Oh fuck, did I miss a big emotional moment?” She held up a carton of chocolate ice cream. “I may be late, but I came prepared. Why do you always have the big emotional moments before I come?”

“It’s not our fault you’re always late.” Robin wiped her eyes.

“Yeah, I told you dinner was at six thirty,” Monica said. “The first half hour is for wine and emotional revelations, like the fact that we’re all turning into our mothers.”

Val scoffed. “That’s not a revelation, Monica. That’s the circle of womanhood. Maiden, mother, crone-that-sounds-exactly-like-your-mother.”

“Robin has realized that she never asks for what she wants—”

“’Cause I don’t even know what I want at age forty-five,” Robin muttered.

“And also she’s been letting life happen instead of taking charge of her own destiny,” Monica continued. “And I realized that I’ve been doing the same thing—coddling my boys—that my mother did, and I hated it so much. What have you been up to?”

“Uh-uh.” Val put the ice cream away and got a wineglass. “It’s not my turn. I’m still choosing to live in denial. Robin, you don’t know what you want?”

Robin took a breath and then let it out, her hands waving in hapless circles. “To be happy and content?”

“That’s a bullshit goal,” Val said. “Being happy is a side product of achieving goals.”

“Fine,” Robin said. “I want to start drawing again.”

“Good.” Val slapped her hand on the counter. “Done. That’s an easy one. You just have to do it.”

“And I don’t want Mark to feel like a roommate. I want to be… wildly desirable again.”

Val wiggled her eyebrows. “Ooh la la.”

Monica nodded thoughtfully. “We can work on that. You’re going to have to retire some of your supermom purses, but your ass has only gotten better with time.”

Robin blinked. “What?”

“I’m just saying it was always kind of skinny, so the lack-of-running thing isn’t all bad.”

Val nodded. “Agreed.”

Robin felt for her ass. “It was too skinny?”

Monica said, “I mean, you worked it with the athletic supermom thing, but a little extra junk in the trunk isn’t hurting.”

Robin hadn’t thought about her ass in years. Of course, maybe that was part of the problem.

Val said, “You need skinny jeans. Emma and I will take you shopping.”

“Oh.” Robin ignored the shopping idea. “And I want to find out why I’m seeing ghosts. I don’t know if that has anything to do with this mini-midlife-crisis or anything, but I’d definitely like to figure out why we’re all suddenly psychic in our midforties.”

Val narrowed her eyes. “Has anyone else wondered whether this is an early symptom of menopause?”

Monica raised one eyebrow. “Do you mean have I wondered whether you being telepathic, Robin being a medium, and me suddenly developing foresight has anything to do with the natural aging process?”

Val rolled her eyes. “Okay, when you put it like that, it sounds slightly less likely.”

“Just a bit.”





All three of them managed to find time the next morning for some research in the Glimmer Lake Library. Robin was looking through boxes of photographs as the librarian, Gail Carpenter, brought another box over.

“My predecessor was in the process of putting all these on microfilm when I took over. Luckily, I’ve been able to drag the library into the twenty-first century, but we still have a long way to go scanning all these old pictures.”

“We’re wondering about the Grimmer family,” Val said. “Specifically, a man named Billy Grimmer.”

Gail cocked her head. “It doesn’t sound familiar.”

“The Grimmers mostly moved away after the dam was built,” Robin said. “According to some things we heard, their land was flooded by Glimmer Lake. I’m doing some research kind of related to a piece of furniture I found.”

“Oh.” Gail frowned. “So it’s not a family connection?”

“No,” Robin said. “Just general town history.” She glanced at the sketch and the photograph of Billy Grimmer they’d found. “I know it was a long time ago, but—”

“See, I saw that picture” —Gail pointed at the sketch— “and all I could think about was your Uncle Raymond. I assumed you were doing something family related. Not that it matters to me, mind you, but I should get you some earlier boxes then. These are clippings and photos from the early sixties, when we were in high school.”

Robin asked, “You knew my Uncle Raymond?”