Page 46 of April Flowers

Lillian hurried to her mother’s side. The man called Vic raised both hands and stepped away as though to say,She’s all yours. Was it Noah’s imagination, or did Vic seem annoyed that Margot had arrived to “save the day”? What was this well-dressed and dapper-seeming man doing at a card-playing event at the Sutton Book Club? This kind of thing was usually reserved for retirees or empty nesters. Vic seemed more like a man who would prefer an all-day golf outing in Florida. He seemed like he could afford it, too.

It didn’t add up.

“Mom? Are you all right?” Margot breathed gently.

Everyone else in the card club pretended to give them privacy, reshuffling the cards and restructuring their teams. It was clear that Lillian was out for the night.

“I told you, Melissa,” Lillian said, using Margot’s sister’s name, “that woman is cheating. She’s making a mockery of me and the whole team.”

“Mom, I don’t think she was cheating,” Margot said.

Lillian’s eyes widened. “You don’t believe me?”

“I just don’t think it’s, um.” Margot raised her chin and searched the room for help. Esme was back with the other cardplayers, and Vic glowered in the corner, his arms crossed. Only Noah remained at her side, trying to make his face open and warm.

But suddenly, Lillian’s face tightened into a bright red ball of rage. She reached out and grabbed Margot’s hand, squeezing so hard that Margot shrieked.

“It was you!” Lillian cried.

Noah’s stomach tightened with fear.

“It was your fault!” Lillian continued.

The other card players turned to look at Lillian and Margot: the spectacle.

“You know what you did, Margot!” Lillian continued, looking manic.

Margot’s face was pale with shock. “Mom, why don’t we go outside? I can take you home. We can watch television. We can calm down.”

“I won’t go anywhere with you!” Lillian cried. “Why would I? You’re a murderer! You killed him! You killed your father!”

Margot looked as though she’d been smacked. Noah was dizzy. Every person in the card-playing club could do nothing but stare. Vic, that terrible, wealthy man, seemed on the verge of an evil smile.

“Get away from me! Murderer!” Lillian began to sob and scream.

Margot backed away from Lillian with her hands raised. Tears raced down her cheeks. “Mom, let’s go,” she continued to say, a constant refrain. “Please, Mom. Let’s leave.”

But Noah did something about this. Filled with rage and memories, he whisked forward, took Lillian in his arms, and carried her out of the Sutton Book Club. To his surprise, Lillian was as light as a pillow. She let him carry her without fidgeting as though the shock made her freeze up. When they got outside, Noah continued toward his truck, feeling resolute.

“You can’t speak to her like that,” he muttered to Lillian.

Behind him, Margot streamed out of the Sutton Book Club, carrying her mother’s things. Vic was hot on her heels, calling, “Lillian! I’ll meet you at your place. We can talk about this.”

Noah buckled Lillian into the front seat of his truck. There, she looked tiny, like a porcelain doll. She crossed her hands over her thighs and took a breath. Margot hadn’t yet reached the truck, which gave Noah time to ask, “Are you feeling better, Lillian?”

Lillian sniffed and looked at him as though she wasn’t initially sure who he was. “My daughter killed my husband,” she said. “I never should have had her. I didn’t want to have her. My husband begged me for a fourth child. Who in their right mind has four children? It’s insanity.”

Noah wasn’t sure what to say. He fizzed with anger. Now that Margot approached, he wanted Lillian to shut up. He knew Alzheimer’s was partially to blame. But he also knew that Lillian Earnheart would always be Lillian Earnheart: the cruelest woman he’d ever met.

Because he didn’t know what else to do, he closed the door on her so that she sat alone in the truck, poring over her regrets.

He turned to find Margot weeping quietly. Another snowfall swirled overhead.

Noah couldn’t stop himself. He stepped forward and wrapped Margot in a big bear hug. She shook like a bird with a broken wing.

He kissed her hair and whispered, “Don’t listen to her.”

Margot sobbed into Noah’s coat. “But she’s right. I did kill him. I did kill him.”

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