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Even though Molly laughed at the memory, it also brought back another, more painful one. An earlier moment on another school bus, when at the age of eight she’d realized that she smelled bad. Their water had gotten turned off and no one in her family had had a bath in weeks, let alone done laundry, and she reeked. The other students had held their noses when she passed by, and in class the teacher had waved a hand in front of her face before sending her to the nurse, who’d drilled her with questions she refused to answer.
She shook it off. What did any of that matter now? She was a super-successful Manhattan lawyer with a luxury sports car. No one from back then could hurt her now.
She owed a lot of that to the two women in her car, and of course, Lila. The four of them had clung together all through middle and high school, boosting each other, protecting each other, crying on each other’s shoulders when needed.
And in Lila’s case, saving their lives. Lila’s uniquely sensitive intuition had set off her alarm bells one morning … the same morning a kid from school had a breakdown that ten other students didn’t survive.
On the expressway into Manhattan, the three of them puzzled over Lila’s recent texts and messages. They all brought out their phones and compared notes.
“I don’t think she’s in New York anymore,” said Charlie suddenly. “Notice how the timing of her texts is always later than normal? She could be in a different time zone.”
Molly frowned. “If she was going somewhere else, why wouldn’t she tell us?”
“I know you’re her personal self-appointed guardian, but she is a grown adult. She doesn’t have to tell us everything she does.” Charlie frowned at her phone. “I’m sure there’s a way to tell where her texts are coming from.”
“Sure, if you know any FBI agents,” said Molly.
Charlie winced and pressed her lips together.
Molly exchanged a glance with Ani. None of them knew exactly how Charlie made her piles of money, but they all suspected it wasn’t entirely on the level. If she knew any FBI agents, it was probably because she’d been questioned, or put on a watch list, or who knew what. Molly had already resigned herself to someday having to come to Charlie’s legal rescue.
“Do you know her last address?” Ani asked Molly. “Let’s swing by there and see if she’s still living there. Maybe she’s been working on a project and lost track of her phone.”
“We have a little time before the ceremony. I thought you guys might want a shower or some food, but?—”
“Lila comes first,” Ani said firmly, and got no argument from anyone.
2
In Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Molly and Ani stayed with Red while Charlie went into a three-story brownstone to question Lila’s roommates.
Molly knew this was a good opportunity to ask Ani about the state of things with her and her husband, John. She’d never been a fan of John, but that was beside the point. Ani had chosen him and that was the end of that. “How is…you know, the whole…”
“Baby thing? Nowhere. A complete bust. Three rounds of IVF and John refuses to spend another penny on getting pregnant.” The words burst from her in a very non-Ani way. She was usually the most calm, cool and collected one, which she had to be as a pediatrician. But her desire for a baby was obviously so strong that it overcame her usual composure.
“I’m sorry.” Should she mention that she’d always thought John was a dickhead? Not helpful, most likely. “What are you going to do?”
“Don’t you mean, why don’t you just adopt?”
The bitterness in Ani’s tone made Molly look at her closely. “Is that what I’m supposed to say, or not supposed to say?”
Ani laughed, a more cheerful sound this time. “I love you, Molly. You never say the boring expected thing.”
“That’s because I was raised by junkies and have no idea what that would be.” Only with her oldest friends could she say things like that, and it was always such a relief to be able to.
Ani gave her a lopsided smile, which broke Molly’s heart, because usually her friend’s smiles took over her face like the full moon on a clear night. “People like to suggest adoption as if it’s the answer to everything, as if it’s a stroke of genius that would never have occurred to me on my own. Adoption is complicated too, and John isn’t interested in it. To tell the truth, he’s fine with no kids. He can adopt a new speedboat or a timeshare in Florida.”
Molly had never heard Ani talk about her husband with anything less that wholehearted love and support. John must be really screwing up. If he’d broken Ani’s trust, he was the biggest idiot ever. But she wouldn’t be surprised. He was a dickhead and always had been.
“I’m so sorry, Ani. If there’s anything I can do…” She trailed off, because what could she possibly do to fix this situation? If there was a fertility doctor to sue, or an insurance denial to dispute, she could help. But dealing with John was a no-go, and as far as getting a sperm to fertilize an egg, that would probably go about as well as the time she’d tried to sprout an avocado on her windowsill. As in, she’d forgotten about it and slammed the window down on top of the poor pit and its doomed toothpick.
“Let’s just talk about something else.” Ani shook her whole body, like a cat shedding water. “Any updates from the New York dating scene?”
“You’re asking the wrong New Yorker. If you think getting an egg and a sperm together is hard…” Molly winced as soon as the words left her mouth. “Sorry. Inappropriate.”
But luckily, Ani had already burst into a peal of laughter that sent tears running down her cheeks.
Phew. Molly never knew when her tongue was going to get her into trouble. Judges didn’t always appreciate her sense of humor; luckily, her friends did.
