Azalea showed up at the kitchen door one afternoon with Suzie on her hip. Once again she had been crying herself blotchy.
“Geez, Zaya, two words: waterproof mascara.”
Azalea laughed in spite of herself.
When Lily had seen to it that Frank’s needs were net for the time being, she brewed some red bush tea for herself and her sister and made toast and apple juice for her niece. The sisters sat quietly for a long time and Lily fought the urge to start the conversation.
Finally, Azalea took a long, shaky breath and said, “Lily, my marriage is over.”
“Oh thank God, Zaya, it’s about stinking time!”
“Lily, he left me.”
“What? Wait. What?”
“I went to the hospital to see Sam and Mother Harper was there. She wouldn’t let me go into his room.”
“What?”
“She said that it would be better for all concerned if I didn’t see Sam right now.”
“Did you tell her where to get off?”
“I started to.”
“Zaya—“ Lily started to lecture.
“Lily, I love you, but please shut up and just listen to me for once.”
“Sorry.”
“She took me to the cafeteria and handed me the divorce papers.”
“She what?”
“She handed me divorce papers. She said that Sam’s association with me and ‘that church’ had done quite enough damage. She said it was time to think what was best for Sam and cut our losses. She said it was time for him to come home to his family where she could take care of him properly.”
“That Harpey!”
“She said that Sam was going on disability so that he wouldn’t have the stress of trying to make a living for me and my unfortunate child. My unfortunate child. Then she said that Suzie would be getting a monthly check that was to be held in conservatorship until she goes to college. College!”
“Oh, Azalea! I am so, so sorry.”
“Yeah! Thanks Lil.”
They sat in silence again while Suzie sang songs in her own made up language.
“Hey,” Azalea asked suddenly, “do you have an extra suit?”
“What?”
“Bathing suit. Do you have one I could use? It’s OK for me to use the pool, right?”
“Yeah, Tom’s in Chicago. There are extras in the pool house help yourself. Are you OK?”
“Lily, I’m going to swim for a while, can you watch Suzie for me? We’ll talk some more later, OK?”
“OK.” Lily was seriously confused.
“Towels?”
“Out there.”
“Thanks. See ya.”
Lily and Suzie stared at each other open-mouthed for a moment. Frank and Claudia poked cautiously into the kitchen.
“Is everything all right, Dear?” Claudia asked.
“I may need a new sister, that one is broken.”
Frank patted her on the shoulder and said, “It’s a good thing you’ve got spares.”
Claudia looked at Suzie and gasped. She hugged the little girl to her and wept. Suzie squirmed and Lily gently took her from Claudia’s fragile arms. Frank took Claudia’s elbow and led her out.
He came back a few minutes later, alone. “Busy afternoon,” he said.
“Yep” Lily agreed. “You’re not going to burst into tears, too, are you?”
“Nope. You?”
“No, I’m good at the moment.”
“Listen Lily, maybe it would be better if your family visited you upstairs.”
“I’m sorry, Frank. What happened here? I don’t get it.”
“Claudia’s youngest, Mary-Margaret. She was Mongoloid.”
“Down’s syndrome.”
“Whatever. They told Claudia to put her away.”
“Put her away?”
“In an institution. She wouldn’t do it. Well Mary-Margaret died. Just got sick and died. Seven years old. No bigger than a minute.”
“Oh.”
“Claudia blamed herself for years. Thought that if she’d gone ahead and committed the little thing, she’d have lived. Seeing this little one--”
“Suzie.”
“Seeing your Suzie was just a bit of a shock for the old girl.”
“I’m sorry Frank. I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t know.” He patted her shoulder again and shuffled out.
Azalea came back in toweling her abundant red hair. Lily could see a glimpse of the Fire Woman she used to know. It was as exhilarating for her as the warm swim and a cold dash across the yard had been for Azalea.
“Wow, that was great!” Azalea exclaimed and she tickled Suzie, popped her towel at Lily’s behind and headed for the refrigerator. “I’m starving. Ooh, cold fried chicken. Can I have it?”
“For a price. What is going on with you?”
“I think I figured it out.”
“Good. Talk. You want that warmed up?”
“No, cold is fine. Got milk? Ah, here. Yeah. Well, at first I was just stunned and all I could think to do was to drive to Two Rivers.”
“This all happened this morning?”
“Mm-hmm. Napkins? Thanks. Well, on the drive here and while I was swimming, I realized.”
“What?”
“I’m not sad.”
“No?”
“No. On the one hand, I’m relieved. On the other, I am royally pissed.”
“Well, yeah!”
“Not about the money. They can stuff the money. They can pretend that the Church is somehow responsible for making Sam bipolar. They can pretend that Suzie is not really his. They can pretend that she could be gifted if she just applied herself. No. Wait. I’m pissed about that, too. What really chaps my hide, is that after all the love and care I gave that sick jerk, after standing by him through all his mood swings, sweating his meds compliance, all the therapy, all the Zoloft I took ‘cause he was making me frigging nuts, after all the crap he put me through, he has the balls to leave me.”
“No he didn’t; he had his mommy do it.”
“I have never been dumped! I do the dumping!”
“Ya darn right!”
They clinked milk glasses and laughed.