Well Behaved Wives(70)

Harriet shrugged this off. She scooped her pocketbook handle onto her arm. “I can’t do this. I won’t say anything, but as for the rest, it’s not my business. And I won’t lie to Scotty. I won’t tell him unless he asks me, but—” She began to walk toward the front door, then turned back. “I’m sorry, Carrie. I’ll call you.” She closed the door behind her.

No one tried to stop her.

“Let her go. She isn’t helping anyway,” said Ruth, turning back to Carrie.

“Ruth’s right. Let her go,” Shirley said to the rest of them. “We need all the energy we can muster without Harriet’s objections, because this only gets harder.”

Lillian surveyed the others with a sense of pride. By allowing her to leave, they sent Harriet a message louder than any protest. Their friendship would not tolerate Harriet’s behavior.

Carrie rested her forehead on Shirley’s shoulder and said, “She’s fibbing. She wouldn’t tell Scotty.”

“How can you be sure?” Shirley asked, her brow wrinkled.

Ruth answered for Carrie. “She’d never let on there was an imperfect marriage in our midst.”

The five women squeezed chairs around a Formica kitchen table that was only sized for four. The sandwiches, salads, and desserts meant for the etiquette class crowded the kitchen counter, where they’d moved everything. The mingling aromas teased Lillian into a sensation that felt like nausea.

So much for etiquette. They were planning to break all those rules now. The disassembled buffet marked the urgency of the situation. Normally Lillian would have balked at the mess in Shirley’s kitchen, but fastidiousness had no place here.

“You should eat something,” Shirley said to the group. “You’ll need energy if we’re going to get this done.”

The girls picked at the food on their plates as if searching gingerly for their appetites in the macaroni—ashamed to be wasteful, yet too anxious to eat. “Make sure you eat at home, at least,” Shirley told them. “You need to act normally to allay suspicion.”

Shirley told them she would be sure to stop at the butcher’s for lamb chops later. That was normal. It made Lillian chuckle at her friend. She knew how Shirley’s mind worked. No matter life’s upheavals, Shirley’s brain would still plan menus. She admired her determination.

“Our ‘special project’ will change your lessons, Lillian. Are you okay with that?” Shirley asked.

Ha. Given all that had transpired here, the lessons were no longer a priority to Lillian. “I am, if you are,” Lillian said to the girls.

They nodded.

“I don’t want anyone to miss out because of me,” Carrie said. “The girls have been looking forward to the etiquette lessons, and I’m sure Lillian has worked hard to prepare.”

“That’s the last thing you need to worry about. Nothing is as hard as what you’ve been through,” Lillian said.

“Lillian’s right. You’re more important than etiquette lessons,” Ruth said. “Besides, it’s only you, me, and Irene now, and we’re with you.”

Irene nodded. “Absolutely.”

“But—” Carrie said.

“Your safety is more important than anything else,” Irene said.

Over the next half hour, Shirley had Lillian, Ruth, and Irene scribble notes to be sure everyone was clear on the details. Carrie would have to leave Philadelphia and go somewhere Eli couldn’t find her. No one questioned the verbalized plan, but the occasional raised eyebrow revealed a skepticism that it might succeed.

“Trust among us is the key ingredient,” Shirley reiterated as she detailed all the supplies Carrie would need, including luggage. Shirts, skirts, dresses, shoes, hosiery, undergarments, hair care and skin care supplies, cosmetics. She wasn’t to look like a fugitive, but a regular traveler, Shirley explained.

Lillian would never doubt Shirley again. Shirley obviously knew what she was talking about. Lillian’s lessons had been all about blending in, but she hadn’t expected they could be about saving a life. The less attention Carrie attracted—the more she fit into her new surroundings—the better. Blending in was critical to her safety.

They would need accommodation for Carrie. Shirley suggested calling friends and family outside the Philly area, preferably with children, an extra bedroom, and the willingness to feed one more person.

Lillian had no family other than Peter’s, and she would never call them. So she probably couldn’t help there. But she could certainly provide the suitcase and clothing Carrie would need.

Shirley dug in her pocketbook and removed a tattered sheet of paper. “This is the plan we used for helping other women in similar situations in the past. Copy this down and read it if you can’t memorize it. It will help us get Carrie started, and it’s the action plan that will get her to safety.”

The specifics of the action plan were not to be spoken of outside this house, for Carrie’s sake.

Lillian recognized the importance of that. Her own mother had been whisked away before she could escape or defend herself. How different Anna’s life might have been if she had found help before things got really bad. If she could have escaped before Lillian’s grandparents silenced her by putting her in an institution for the rest of her life.