Chapter 12 #2
Sara Lee thought about Jerry's blunt words at church, his refusal to pretend grief. ‘The man was a poison.’ Now she understood where that came from. Years of small cruelties. Decades of being made to feel less-than because of who he was, where he came from.
Deciding it was time for her to step in. "At the festival," Sara Lee said carefully, "Raymond said something to you both. About Jerry being Italian. I saw it from the coffee booth."
Ivy's jaw tightened. "He said Jerry was a foreigner who'd never really belong here.
Said I'd made my bed with a man who'd always been second-class, and I should lie in it.
" Her eyes blazed with old anger. "I wanted to hit him myself.
But Jerry just laughed. Told Raymond that being a cook was honest work, which was more than Raymond could say. That made Raymond furious."
Through the serving window, Sara Lee saw Jerry pause in his chopping, his shoulders tense. He was listening, she realized. Probably had been listening this whole time.
"Did either of you see Raymond again after that?" June asked, her tone still gentle but with an edge of something sharper underneath.
“No, thank goodness. Jerry was with me the rest of the festival," Ivy said firmly.
"We worked our booth, we packed up together, we came home together.
He never left my sight." Her voice softened slightly.
"I know my husband, June. I know he has a temper when it comes to protecting the people he loves.
But I think he wanted to make sure I was okay. "
Sara Lee listened, impressed with their relationship.
Ivy looked at her through calm eyes. "Believe me, if Jerry was going to kill Raymond, he would have done it years ago when Raymond said those things about our children. When the rage was fresh and hot. He wouldn't have waited until now. Old anger, old pain. It’s now like water off a duck’s back.
We just ignored him for the most part. You see, we finally realized that we are the ones with a strong, loving marriage.
Our business is good, and we have healthy, happy children.
So, we are the winners, and Raymond will never have what we do.
” She stood, smoothing her dress. "I guess now we’ll never have to worry about it again.
My husband is many things, but he's not patient enough to hold a grudge that long without acting on it. "
She walked back to the kitchen, leaving Sara Lee and June in loaded silence.
Sara Lee pushed her chicken parmesan around her plate, her appetite gone. "Do you believe her? After all, they are each other’s alibis.”
"Yes, I do," Nana June said thoughtfully. “Even though Jerry can be quick-tempered, Ivy is right. They have a relationship that Raymond would never have, despite their seeming difference in social status.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes. But Ivy's logic made sense. If Jerry was going to kill Raymond, why wait? Why let the insults pile up for years and years before finally acting?
The bell over the door chimed, and Sara Lee looked up to see three women entering.
Her breath caught slightly. Petunia Melton, in her turquoise-blue dress, looked impeccable despite the heat.
Rose Whitmore, elegant in navy blue. And Dahlia Thornton, in soft colors that matched her name.
Ivy's three older sisters… the Carter girls.
Petunia, the oldest, followed by the twins, Rose and Dahlia.
Though looking at them together, you'd never know they were related.
Petunia, Rose, and Dahlia carried themselves with the careful grace of women who'd married into Meadowlark Creek society as though Meadowlark Creek wasn’t a tiny town.
Their clothes were probably from a boutique in Richmond, their hair was styled, and expensive jewelry adorned their hands, ears, and necks.
Ivy, in her simple green dress and restaurant apron, belonged to a different world.
"June. Sara Lee." Petunia's voice was carefully modulated but kind. "How nice to see you."
"Ladies," Nana June greeted them warmly. "It’s nice to see you. Petunia, I want to express my condolences."
The three sisters exchanged glances, some silent communication passing between them.
Something flickered across their faces… perhaps discomfort.
Whatever it was, Sara Lee couldn't quite identify the expression.
Rose's fingers fluttered nervously on her purse.
Petunia's smile appeared brittle. Dahlia glanced toward the kitchen, where Ivy was visible through the serving window.
"Thank you," Dahlia said, her voice warmer than Sara Lee had expected. "We came to check on Ivy. After everything that's happened... we need to make sure everyone is okay."
Sara Lee felt Nana June's attention sharpen beside her, though her grandmother's expression remained pleasantly neutral.
"Of course," Nana June said graciously. "Family is so important at times like these."
The sisters moved to a table near the kitchen.
Not the farthest one, Sara Lee noticed, but one where they could speak privately while still being close to the kitchen.
Ivy emerged with their water glasses, and her whole face transformed when she saw her sisters.
Not the careful neutrality of a server, but genuine pleasure mixed with concern. Ivy offered Petunia an enveloping hug.
"That's interesting," Sara Lee murmured once Ivy had taken their orders and returned to the kitchen. "They seem... closer than usual."
"Mmm," her grandmother murmured thoughtfully. "They do, don't they? Despite their different social circles, there's still genuine affection. Time has a way of healing old wounds. But also..." She paused. "Worry. Did you see it? All four of them are worried about something."
They finished their meal, but Sara Lee noticed Nana June angled her body slightly, positioning herself so she could observe the sisters' table without being obvious about it.
"What are you looking for?" Sara Lee whispered.
"Anything. Everything. The way they're sitting. Who's doing the talking? What they're worried about." Nana June took a sip of her water. "Body language tells stories, sweetheart. You just have to know how to read it."
Sara Lee tried to observe the way Nana June did.
The four sisters sat close together, heads bent in conversation.
Petunia's posture was still rigid, but she held Ivy's hand across the table.
Rose kept glancing around as if checking who might overhear.
Dahlia leaned in close, speaking in low, urgent tones.
And Ivy looked troubled, her free hand twisting her wedding ring.
They weren't gossiping. This was no social call. They were strategizing. Or maybe... protecting something or someone?
"Should we try to hear what they're saying?" Sara Lee asked, feeling slightly guilty even as she suggested it.
"No need to be obvious about it." Nana June stood, collecting her purse with deliberate slowness. "Come on. Let's settle our bill."
They approached the counter, and June took her time counting out exact change while Sara Lee pretended to study the dessert case.
From there, she could just catch fragments of the conversation from the booth.
Dahlia's cultured tones. Ivy's worried responses.
Jerry's low rumble. Petunia's measured words.
"...need to make sure we're all saying the same thing..."
"...don’t bring up the Christmas…"
"...twenty-five years is a long time, but still..."
“...Rose, are you sure no one knows about…”
“Dahlia, if he told anyone…”
Sara Lee's pulse quickened. Whatever the sisters were discussing, they sounded like they each had something to hide. Maybe even something that happened a quarter-century ago.
When she and her grandmother finally left the diner and stepped into the warm afternoon sunlight, Sara Lee felt like her head was spinning.
"That was..." She struggled for words. "What was that about?"
"That," Nana June said with satisfaction, "was the sound of secrets starting to crack. Come on. We're going to the library."
"Why the library?"
"Because we need to look at old newspapers. Twenty-five years ago, to be specific. But we need to go home first," Nana June said as they approached the Victorian house. “I’m sure Mister Smee and Pippi would like the outing.”