“How did you say you found them again?” Margaret asked.
She repeated her story about the box in her basement.
Richard reached for a brownie. “Have you read them all?”
“I finished this one last night.” Kiersten scraped her fork over the last crumbs of pecan pie on her plate. “I haven’t started on the others yet.”
Chip took a sip of his coffee. “Anything interesting?”
“Well ...” She paused. There were similarities between the “advice” Dottie got from Dickie in the diaries, and the advice Aspen dispensed in her trad wife workbooks. What if Dottie had been married to one of their oldest friends? Someone they knew and loved?
“It didn’t seem like a particularly ... happy marriage ...” Kiersten said, attempting to be diplomatic. “But this was also a long time ago.”
A saucer rattled as Margaret set her teacup down with shaking hands. “Everythingwas different back in 1965. The things that people did back then ...” Her voice trailed off. “Well, they wouldn’t get away with things like thattoday.”
Chip laid his large, smooth hand over his mother’s wrinkled one. “She’s still recovering from cataract surgery, so I think we might need to wrap things up now. But if you want to leave the diary here, I’m sure Grammy and Grampy can figure out who it belonged to. And please, bring the other diaries over too.”
“I will,” Kiersten promised, “if I ever finish reading them. This homeschooling takes up more time than I expected. And the Harvest Festival kept us all busy, too, of course.”
“I’ll come by and pick up the diaries after Grammy and Grampy finish this one. I’m sure they’ll get through it quickly.”
“That’s the nice thing about being retired,” Richard said. “Lots of time for reading.”
“Perfect. Thanks again for all your help.” Kiersten rose from her chair as Piper caught her eye, sending her a look she couldn’t interpret.
Chip walked them to the door, while the old couple remained in the kitchen. She glanced back and saw Margaret lift a napkin to her eye and wipe away a tear.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Piper
They walked back to Piper’s house in silence. “Come inside for a minute,” Piper said in a low voice.
“I can’t. Reggie and I are doing weight training in ten minutes. I can now bench press thirty pounds,” Kiersten said proudly.
“That’s great.” Piper opened the side door to her garage and pulled Kiersten inside. Then she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “But what did you think?”
“Of what?”
Piper resisted the urge to shake her friend. “Of their reaction when you told them about the diaries.”
Kiersten shrugged. “I thought they were nice old people who were kind enough to volunteer to help.”
Piper chewed on her lower lip. “They’re hiding something.”
“Like what?” The corner of Kiersten’s mouth twitched, and Piper could tell she was trying very hard not to laugh. “Black market motorized wheelchairs? Fake AARP membership cards?”
Piper’s eyes narrowed. “I’m serious.”
Kiersten shook her head. “I’m serious too. They were the world’s sweetest old couple. The only thing those people are hiding are unwrapped Christmas presents for their great-grandkids.”
“Margaret was crying when we left. Did you see that?”
“Margaret just had cataract surgery. Her eyes are watering.”
Piper went silent. “Is that athing?”
“I don’t know,” Kiersten said with an exasperated sigh. “I have not yet had my hips replaced or my cataracts done, but I think that’s a far more logical explanation than ... stolen Geritol tablets.”
