The Patron Saint of Butterflies(60)

I don’t say anything, but Benny nods eagerly.

Lillian blows inside a glass, shrugging as a pocketful of dust emerges from the bottom, and fills it with the limeade. “Don’t worry,” she says. “I’ll take this one.” Pulling out another glass from the cupboard, she rinses it out in the sink and fills it. Then, after plopping in several ice cubes, she hands it to me. “Come on in here. We can sit down.”

We follow her into a slightly larger room with pale yellow walls. Lillian plops down on the couch next to Nana Pete. The arms are so threadbare that I can see pieces of wood beneath the stuffing. Nana Pete is perspiring more than usual and her mouth is drawn in a straight line. When we walk into the room, she looks up at us, but her lids are heavy, as if they are weighted on the inside.

“Listen, Ma.” Lillian reaches over and smoothes Nana Pete’s hair off her forehead. “I’m not gonna go into King’s tonight so I can stay with you and—”

But Nana Pete cuts her off with a wave of her hand. “Don’t be ridiculous, Lil. I’m tired from the trip, is all. You didn’t go in yesterday to come meet us in Raleigh, and I don’t want you to call in again. I remember the mess you came back to the last time I visited. Besides, it’s no big deal. We’re all just going to sleep anyway. It’s not like I have to do anything.” She glances over at me and winks. “Except maybe watch my snoring.”

Lillian studies her mother for a moment and then sighs. “All right,” she says softly. “If you’re really sure … ”

Nana Pete nods her head firmly. “I’m really sure,” she repeats. “Now git. You have about twenty minutes to shower and get down there before they start panicking.”

Lillian plants a kiss on her mother’s forehead. “You really do remember from last time, eh?”

Nana Pete nods. “How could I forget? We barely got any time to visit.”

Lillian hesitates again and then drains the last of her limeade. “Well, it won’t be like that this time,” she says. “I’ll push through tonight and then I’ll be off for three days in a row.” She stands up. “We’ll all have plenty of time together when I get back.”

Whoopee, I think. One big happy family.

Honey comes in a few minutes later, carrying a little Siamese cat. Her face is pale for some reason, as if she has just seen a ghost. But Nana Pete sits up when she sees the animal, and claps her hands.

“Mr. Pibbs!” Honey releases her grip and the cat scrambles over next to Nana Pete. “Oh!” Nana Pete says, scratching him between the ears. “Hello, my little man! Mama hasn’t seen you in so long!”

“Is he yours?” Honey asks softly.

Nana Pete shakes her head. “No, no. He’s Lillian’s. I bought him for her after she … came … ” She bites her lower lip and looks up at us. Her eyes seem a little brighter than they did earlier. “He’s been good company for her.”

I watch as Benny sits down on the couch and starts stroking the cat’s white fur. Mr. Pibbs tilts his head back and closes his eyes, clearly relishing the attention.

“Where’d Lillian go?” Honey asks suddenly.

Nana Pete rubs the animal’s throat. “She has to go to work for a while. She’ll be back in the morning.”


“Work?” Honey repeats. “She’s going to work? Now?”

Nana Pete puts her finger against her lips. “Shh … don’t let her hear you. She’ll feel bad. She wanted to call off, but I told her not to. She’s been at King’s for quite some time now. She works very hard. They depend on her. She has to go in.”

Honey’s face gets dark, like a storm cloud passing over the sun. Then she plops down heavily on a battered rocking chair in the corner and stares out the window.

“Are you all right?” I ask.

She nods but doesn’t take her eyes off the window.

“It’s late,” Nana Pete says. “Come on, everyone, time for bed.” She kisses each of us and holds Benny close for a long time, stroking his hair. Then she walks up the stairs and closes the door.

Lillian has instructed Nana Pete to sleep in the only bedroom, which is on the second floor, so Benny, Honey, and I are sprawled out downstairs on the living room floor, on top of a stack of blankets. I’m a little spooked sleeping in this weird woman’s house, even if she is my father’s sister, and so I start my litany of evening prayers to help take the edge off. After a bit, Honey throws her blankets off and stands up.

“Hey,” I whisper, leaning up on one elbow. “Where’re you going?”

Honey whirls around. “To the kitchen, okay? I need something to drink.” Her tone prevents me from asking anything more—or from following her after more than forty minutes pass and she doesn’t reappear. I’m not sure what’s bothering her. All of a sudden, for some reason, it seems like she’s shutting down the way Benny has. Could she possibly be having second thoughts about everything?

I wonder what Mom and Dad are doing now. It’s our third night away from them. Have they left Mount Blessing to come look for us? Has Dad tried to call Nana Pete? Will he be even angrier when he finds out that Lillian is in on this, too? And what will Emmanuel do when he finds out? Will we ever be allowed back inside Mount Blessing?