Page 67 of Lucy Undying

I go back to the beginning and read all the funniest passages—particularly the vicious but fair mockery of Americans. But I also read the saddest sections—the descriptions of her mother, the way she’s so desperate to be happy for Mina even though her heart is breaking. The full depth and breadth of Lucy. I breathe life into her so Elle understands.

Elle doesn’t say anything, but she laughs at both Lucy’s jokes and my horrendous attempt at an English accent to narrate her thoughts.

“Oh, oh,” I say, excited. “Let me read you the triple-proposal scene. So awkward. All those idiots in love with her and refusing to notice that she wasn’t attracted to any of them. Poor Lucy. First up is Doctor Seward.” I pause and tap the page where Lucy describes how her mother always gets worse after he visits. “He’s one hundred percent making Lucy’s mother sick so he can have access to Lucy.”

“What?” Elle asks, genuinely shocked.

“Oh, I have so many theories. But Doctor Seward is for sure a bad, bad dude. He’s constantly trying to drug Lucy, too. Thank god she doesn’t trust him. Anyway, where were we? So, he proposes, and she’s shocked because she’s always been polite but never given him any romantic encouragement. He basically treats it like a job interview, listing all his many qualifications.” I switch back into my Lucy voice and read the rest.

Elle snorts a little laugh at Lucy’s descriptions, and I laugh with her. “Right? She’s hilarious. I wish I could have known her.”

“Mm,” Elle says. “You really think she was special.” She traces a finger along the inside of my wrist, then up my palm and each of my fingers. Not touching the diary, just touching me where I’m touching it. “Should I be jealous?”

“Pretty sure she’s my great-great-whatever, and also she was nineteen like a hundred and thirty years ago, so I think you’re safe. But she was definitely special. And I care about her. So much in here is funny and charming, but also sad. See, look at this section. Things are crossed out. Even though her diary was private and hidden, she still felt the need to erase her own thoughts sometimes. She was trying to edit her feelings. It breaks my heart. I wish I could tell her there’s nothing wrong with her.”

When Elle doesn’t immediately respond, I push on. I’m determined to win her over. She’ll agree with me that Lucy was an incredible person, and that we need to protect her private thoughts from being put on display. I flip back to the proposal section. “But just wait. It gets worse for our girl. Because it’s not Doctor Seward at the door next, it’s the cowboy! Who has also showed up to, drumroll please…propose! But he uses super-weird turns of phrases and talks in circles like he’s lassoing his thoughts. I swear he might not even have been American, his folksy sayings are so odd. He was definitely making them up to create an Ultra Cowboy persona and impress all the Brits. Anyway, he’s so confusing, it takes Lucy a long time to figure out he’s proposing, too. Here, I’ll just read it, it’s so funny, you’ll—”

My phone rings from the nightstand. The number makes my heart sink. Dad’s nursing home. I put my free arm across Elle’s chest, holding her like a life preserver as I answer.

“Iris?” Dad’s voice trembles with fear. “Iris! She was here again! She got into my room. I hid under the covers, but I could hear her, pacing around and laughing the whole night. She’s going to come back tonight and—”

“Dad,” I say. “She’s dead. Mom’s dead. She can’t come back. I promise.”

“But she is, she—”

“Call your nurse. Put them on the phone.” I wait. There’s some muted chatter in the background, and then a tired-sounding man answers.

“Hi, this is Greg.”

“Hi, Greg. I left very specific instructions for my father’s room. Have they been followed?”

The pause on the other end is all the answer I need. Bastards. As much money as we gave them, and they can’t follow a few silly instructions?

“If my instructions are not followed to the letter, our contract is void. I’ll move my father to another facility and sue for a full refund.”

“That won’t be necessary!” Greg understands how much my father is worth to them. “I’ve got the list right here. You’re right, some of the items haven’t been taken care of. I’ll see to them personally.”

“Thanks, Greg. I’m trusting you with this.”

“Would you like me to put you back on with your dad?”

“Nope,” I say, and hang up. Then I immediately dial another number.

“Is everything okay?” Elle asks.

“Nope,” I answer. But before I can expound, Dickie picks up.

“Miss Goldaming,” he says. He always emphasizes “Miss” so it’s clear he’s not saying “Ms.”

“Dick,” I say. I always inflect it so it’s clear I’m being crudely offensive, not using his actual name. “Stop fucking with my dad.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Bullshit. You’re terrorizing him so I’ll come back.”

“I’m doing no such thing.”

I roll my eyes. “Right, sorry. You’re delegating the task of terrorizing him to someone else. You have plausible deniability and an alibi, and I’m still forced to come back. And what’s with sending Ford here to keep an eye on me? She about broke my arm threatening me.”

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