“I do not!”
“Yeah, you do. If I asked Thessaly to read my cards, you’d sit there with a smirk on your face just like you did when I told you her name.”
Kate stared at Beth and knew she was right. She did think the whole Witchfire vibe was bogus, that Thessaly knew how to appeal to bored women who wished they had more in their lives.
“And all your comments about the ‘suburban set.’ What was it you said last week? ‘Housewives having their fortunes told and looking for love.’”
“I wasn’t even talking about you!”
“Well, I’m a housewife.”
“Who runs an art gallery!”
“But what was the crack about looking for love?”
“I don’t know. I was kidding around.”
“You make it sound as if you think I want to have an affair. Looking for love, and truly, what’s so wrong about that?” She narrowed her eyes at Kate as if challenging her.
“Actually, I think I said, ‘Looking for loveadvice.’”
“No, you didn’t. You saidlove.”
“I don’t remember. I’m sorry,” Kate said.
“I get belittled enough at home.”
“Pete?” Kate asked. She wanted to Pete bash, to defuse the discomfort.
“Let’s not talk about it,” Beth said. Then, with a sharp gaze, “Maybeyoushould look for love. It might help you understand what the rest of us go through.”
When Thessaly came over, she refilled their teapot with hot water, but Beth didn’t ask her to throw the tarot. That was the last time the sisters had met here. Beth had never suggested it again, and they’d started going to Dutch’s Tavern, more Kate’s style, for red wine and burgers. Now, passing the teahouse and looking back on the odd conversation, Kate wondered if Beth had wanted to tell her about the man who had so lovingly captured her beauty and soul in that charcoal drawing. Jed.
Lunch was underway at Saint Ignatius. Two women stood behind a long counter, serving what looked like Thanksgiving dinner: turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes, and peas. But it was August in Connecticut, so there was also corn on the cob.
The clientele ranged in age from teenage to elderly. They lined up with trays, carrying their meals to long folding tables set up in two rows. The room had basketball hoops at either end, as well as five easels folded in the corner. It obviously had multiple uses, from dining room to gymnasium to art studio. Was this where Beth and Sam had worked with people on art projects? Kate looked around, scanning all the men’s faces, wondering which one was JH.
“Hey! Kate!”
She turned to see Scotty emerging from the kitchen, carrying a tray of sliced tomatoes and basil.
“I forgot you worked here,” Kate said.
“Beth got me started.”
“Did you grow those?” Kate asked, looking at the ripe, red slices.
“Yes, but the basil is Beth’s. I stopped at her garden to pick some on my way over. She always did things to make the meals special. People here loved her. They miss her.” She gestured at a bulletin board across the room on the wall. A photo of Beth in her gray shirt and white cap, her arms around two beaming women, had been tacked to the board. Beneath it was a banner that saidFOREVERLOVED. It was covered with signatures.
“Everyone who comes in is invited to sign it,” Scotty said. “They all do.”
Kate drifted over to look at the names. Scotty put the tray down on the serving station and followed her. Kate read every name, but she didn’t find what she was looking for.
“What brings you here?” Scotty asked.
“I was hoping to see a friend of Beth’s. In fact, I sent you a text about him—didn’t you get it?”
Kate turned to see Scotty hovering nervously behind her. A few tendrils of blonde hair fell from her cap. She had a very slight tan and faint lines around her brown eyes. They had been friends for a lifetime, and Kate knew those eyes so well. They were full of remorse.
