Page 66 of Dearly Departed

Plane crashes aren’t funny, but the duality of life strikes me as hilarious. We all laugh about it and keep laughing.

When the giggles taper off, Elise pats my arm. “You don’t have to move here permanently. You and Jacob don’t even have to stay here if this isn’t the right place to recover. It’s whatever works best for you. There’s nothing to prove.”

Could my heart stop aching for, like, one second?

“I didn’t know I wanted this,” I say around the lump in my throat. “I didn’t know I was allowed to want to come home. I feel like I should have known that before now.”

“You know now.” Elise kisses the top of my head. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, okay? Our parents set a pretty poor example. But we can make our own example now.”

“You’re so inspiring.” Lydia sounds like she might cry, too. “You guys are my idols. I hope I can be like you when I grow up.”

“You can’t. I refuse to let you get in any plane crashes.”

“Fine. I won’t get in any plane crashes. But I think you should tell us the whole story now. Like, all the details.”

I take a deep breath. “Some parts of it are supposed to be top secret. I’m not supposed to tell anyone. Not even Snowball.”

A pause.

“You don’t have to tell us anything you’re not comfortable with,” Elise says. “We’ll respect⁠—”

Lydia scoffs. “Um, what? Yes, you do. Keeping secrets is what sisters are for. And we’re yours. So tell us.”

A weight lifts off my shoulders. Is that…joy? Relief? Both?

“Okay.” I missed my sisters so much. “Well, first, I thought there was going to be a surprise honeymoon, so I⁠—”

My sisters listen with rapt attention. Mid-story, I realize that moving to London was definitely the right choice at the time. Jacob and I both needed some breathing room.

But keeping that ocean between us and our family—keeping ourselves isolated—that was something my dad would’ve liked. He’d want us to be alone and afraid. He got to a lot of people that way, including Raymond Harris, who obviously didn’t have anyone to go to. If he had, maybe all of this would have been different.

I finish the story by telling them about the secret base that they can never, ever mention to anyone else.

“What the fuck,” Lydia whispers.

“Lydia,” Elise scolds gently.

“What the hell.”

“Yeah,” I say.

“Do you think it’s one of those government organizations? Or even more powerful people?”

“I have no idea.”

Footsteps move down the hallway, along with soft voices. A minute later, there’s a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Elise calls.

The door opens. “It’s me.” Gabriel. “Did you…build a fort?”

“Yes,” Elise answers, a smile in her voice.

“Okay.” There’s a smile in Gabriel’s voice, too. “Jacob is asleep in the guest bedroom. I wanted to let you know. Catherine—could I borrow you for a minute?”

The world outside the blanket fort isn’t quite as hot, but it’s warm. Oh—that’s what a family is supposed to be like. I’m having a lot of late-in-life realizations.

I follow Gabriel downstairs. Mason and Charlotte and Jameson and Lily and Remy and Robin have congregated in the kitchen. I think they’re talking about dinner, or maybe dessert.