Page 6 of Midnight Clear

“Have you tried?” Junie asked.

“Why are you being so contrary tonight?” Sophie asked, narrowing her eyes.

“It’s my gift,” Junie said.

“Maybe we could stop talking about Hank O’Hara,” Sophie said. “We’re supposed to be here because of Mom’s good news. And I’m sure Hank O’Hara has nothing to do with that.”

“You are absolutely right,” Maggie said. “It has everything to do with me.”

“And me,” Lori said, and then she put down her menu. “I’m getting the pot roast. And we’ll need more rolls.”

Sophie realized the waitress had been standing there, and she wondered how much she’d overheard of their conversation. Once they finished ordering, Sophie looked back at her mother expectantly.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” she asked. “What’s the big secret?”

Maggie looked back and forth between her daughters, and then Sophie realized her mother was actually nervous. She kept rubbing the gold chain around her neck between her fingers.

“Is something wrong?” Sophie asked, concerned. “Are you sick?

“Oh, God. You’re sick, aren’t you?” Junie asked, her hand coming to her chest. “Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll take care of you. We’ll hire the best nurses and doctors.”

“Thank you, dear,” Maggie said, her lips twitching. “But I’m not sick. Aunt Lori and I have decided to move to Florida. We sold the house today.”

Sophie only heard a buzzing in her ears that sounded something like chainsaws. It was the only explanation for what she must have misheard. She closed her eyes and shook her head to try and clear it.

“What did you say?” Sophie asked.

“If you’re sick you should just come out and say it, Mom,” Junie said.

“Good grief, Junie. I am not sick. I’m moving to Florida.”

“You don’t know anyone in Florida,” Sophie said lamely.

“I’ll know your Aunt Lori. She’s moving with me.”

“But…why? Your family is here. You’ve spent almost your whole life here.”

“Exactly,” Maggie said, nodding. “It’s time for us to get out of Laurel Valley and have a little adventure. I’ve been here too long. And it hasn’t always been easy.”

Sophie grabbed her mother’s hand and squeezed. “I know, Mom.”

“I wanted to move after your father…” She stopped and took a fortifying breath. “Well, you know. After your father. But I thought it would be harder on you girls to uproot and start from scratch with a new school and new friends. So we stayed.”

“Oh, Mom,” Sophie said. “I wish you would have told us you didn’t want to be here.”

“Of course I wanted to be here,” she said sternly. “I wanted to be with my girls and to watch y’all get settled. And now you are, and it’s time for me to start a new chapter. I’m just lucky that Lori wants to come with me.”

“We’ll be like Thelma and Louise,” Lori said, chuckling, though her eyes were watery. “Full of adventure and falling in love with handsome men and then breaking their hearts.” She sighed dramatically.

“Aunt Lori,” Junie said. “Did you actually see that movie? They die at the end.”

“Oh, pish posh,” Lori said, waving her hand. “I like to think they survived and lived out the rest of their lives with a new identity. Maybe new hairstyles. Some highlights or something.”

“What about the hair salons?” Junie asked Lori. “You’ve done so well now that you have salons in both of the resorts and downtown. You’re a chain. You can’t just close up. Where am I supposed to get my hair done? Maintaining this color costs me a fortune every month. I can’t just go to another salon and expect them to replicate it.”

“I sold it to Marie Lamont,” Lori said. “She bought the whole kit and caboodle. She’s my top stylist. You know she’s been wanting to branch out on her own, but I told her it’d be better for her to stay put and take over a business that was already established. She does good hair. I trained her myself. We’ve been working on the deal a couple of months.”

“A couple of months?” Junie asked, eyes wide.

---