Page 9 of January

“That thing is made of cardboard and chewing gum. It will always need work.”

“I know. I actually called the company myself and gave them the money instead of her directly, thinking I was being smart to do that, but then they called me back and told me that she refused the service and somehow conned them into giving her my money in a refund.”

“And they did it?”

“She’s very persuasive. You know that. When I asked her about it, she said she wanted to do the work herself.”

“What did she really spend it on?”

“She went to the bar,” Kyle replied.

“And ran through a grand in a night?” Jolie asked.

“I think she said she bought a round for the crowd, but I was so angry, I didn’t exactly listen.”

“I can’t really say anything; I’ve given her more money than you. She just has that way of getting under my skin and somehow convincing me to do whatever she’s asking. I hate it.”

“Me too,” Kyle replied. “But for us to do somethingabout it, we’d actually have to do something about it.”

“Do you think we’re going to actually discover anything about what happened between them there? Why Mom is a total mess?”

“I have no idea. I just feel this pull that I need to explore.”

“And I’m with you, Ky, but we’re both kind of spending money we probably shouldn’t be spending on this, so I at least want to have some fun while we’re here, okay?”

“I know. We will,” Kyle replied.

They talked more about the activities Jolie wanted them to do while in town, and as the plane began its descent, Kyle closed her eyes again, thinking now about Jolie’s questions. Would they discover anything? Would they even get into the house by using that neighbor’s key? Would they get arrested for trying to uncover a little bit about their past? Kyle didn’t know. And she only had a few more minutes to think before they landed. Then, she’d need to start putting those thoughts into action.

???

“Hello?”

“Yes, Dear,” the old woman replied when she opened the front door but kept the screen door with an ornamental fleur-de-lis on it closed between them.

“My name is Kyle Schafer. This is my sister, Jolie.” She motioned toward an anxious Jolie, who kept turning around to see if someone was watching them.

“I’m not interested in buying anything.”

“Oh, no. We’re not selling anything. Our grandmother lived next door to you. We heard from a family member that you might have a key to her house, and we–”

“Oh, my word! I see it now.” The woman pulled open the screen door. “You’re Lorraine’s grandbabies.”

“Babies?” Jolie said, looking confused.

“Oh, she showed me pictures of you when you were little.”

“She had pictures?” Kyle asked.

“A couple. Not many. What happened between her and your mother was a tragedy, but she loved the two of you so much. Come in. Come in.”

“She loved us?” Jolie asked.

“Of course. You were her only grandchildren. She loved you. Of course, she did. Come on in. I’ll make us some iced tea or lemonade. I have both. Which would you prefer?”

“Actually, we still need to check into our hotel. We just wanted to know if you had the key,” Jolie replied.

“The lawyer hasn’t givenyouone yet?”

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