Holly shrugged, "Why don't we wait till after the funeral? You may want to wait."
"No, actually, I don't want to wait. I would like Logan's phone, please."
Josseline stood quickly. "Why don't we wait, Margo? Let's go over what has to happen today and what you need help with in the real estate office?"
"No. I don't need help. We have a receptionist-personal assistant there, and she has everything completely under control. She's gathering Logan's files right now so that I can look at them first thing tomorrow when I go into the office. What I really want is Logan's phone."
Carley squeezed her hand. "No, you don't, honey. No, you don't."
Her heart beat rapidly, and she felt something sour in her stomach. "What does that mean? What are you hiding from me? You've all been acting weird. What is going on, and why can't I have my husband's phone?" Her voice rose, and she immediately regretted it when she saw them grimace.
"You can have it," Carley said, "But let's wait till later today."
"Okay, why?"
Holly leaned forward and softly replied. "It's just best if you wait. We don't want you to be upset or overly sad today."
"Overly sad? My husband of twenty-three years died. I'm going to be overly sad no matter what you think."
Holly's eyes darted to Carley's immediately.
Finally, Josseline spoke up. "Give her the phone."
"No," Carley bit back.
"Give her the phone," Josseline growled.
"No, Josseline, not now."
Margo slapped her hands on top of the table. "Give me the fucking phone."
Her sisters stared at each other for a moment, and then finally, Carley turned slightly so they were face to face. Her voice softened. "Margo, you're going to find some upsetting things on Logan's phone."
"Like what?"
"We really wanted to wait till after the funeral for all of this." Carley took a deep breath and glanced at her sisters, who stared mutely.
"Logan's been having an affair."
Swirls and paisley shapes floated before her eyes. Her heart beat so fast she thought she was going to pass out. Her vision dimmed. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why would her sisters say this about Logan? Why would they say this?
She finally found her voice. "I can't believe that you're accusing him of having an affair at a time like this. At a time when he can't defend himself. At a time when I am grieving." Her voice broke.
"We tried to spare you," Carley reminded her.
"Who? Who was he having an affair with then?"
Carley let out a deep breath and looked at her sisters for help. Neither of them chimed in. She shook her head slightly. "A woman named Sierra Stigler, and they've been having an affair for about seven years. I found out because his phone kept chiming when you had left to take a walk the other day, and I looked at his phone and saw her messaging him, asking what was going on. She asked what the doctor said and if he would please respond. She was so worried. I started looking back at all the texts, and they've been communicating for seven years."
Seven years. She couldn't even talk. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. This was the most bizarre information she'd ever gotten. Ever. And she wanted so badly to go scream at Logan and ask him what the fuck.
Carley slid the phone she had been holding before across the table. "You don't have to read this now, Margo. You can wait. You have a funeral to get through. But we're here if you want to read some of it now."
She looked at the phone like it was something that would reach out and bite her. She hated to think about what was on that phone, and then again, part of her needed to know. They wouldn't lie about something like this, would they? They loved her. They wouldn't hurt her unnecessarily. They must know something that she didn't know. They must.
Slowly, as if she were afraid of that phone, she reached forward and pulled the phone toward her. She picked it off the table and entered Logan's birth date. That had always been his password, but it didn't work.
She tried again, and it still didn't work.