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Mary-Lou whispered back, “People are always saying she should have run for mayor decades ago.”
Birdie thought it must be difficult for all these elderly women, who had stood up for what was right and against such odds, witnessing all the younger women dismissing the foundation laid before them on their behalf. A younger, misguided generation discounting their opinions and accomplishments, waving them off as bothersome old crones.
Out of nowhere, standing behind the group of women, a lovely voice said, “I have an idea for one of your videos.”
It was Bernadette.
After an hour of discussion and eating, it was settled. They had a loose outline of a series of videos that Birdie wasn’t sure were groundbreaking or worthy of their characters but were certainly unexpected.
While chatting with Cora Leigh, she received a text from Angus, telling her he and Mia would be there to pick her up in less than five minutes.
She was helping Bernadette put the lids back on several of the dishes, when Mary-Lou asked if she could speak to her. There was absolutely nothing more she would rather not do but nodded her head and followed the woman toward the front porch, away from the others.
Birdie leaned against the front porch rail, girding her loins, and preparing for a list of Maisie-related questions.
To her surprise, Mary-Lou, appearing quite nervous said, “Birdie, I owe you an apology.”
That was the last thing she had expected to hear from the woman who, as a girl, made her life hell.
Mary-Lou nodded. “I was mean and hateful and I certainly don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m going to ask for it anyway.”
“Oh,” Birdie responded. “Okay.”
“I was so eager to please your sister, always sure to stay on her good side, that I treated you horribly.”
Birdie toed at the ground. “What about what I did to Lucas?”
“All I know about what went down that night is information based on rumors and hearsay. What I know for sure, is what I did to you. Which was mean and hateful. When I finally figured out how awful she was and refused to collude on something truly heinous with her, she made me one of her enemies and did her best to destroy me and my reputation. Just like she did you.”
“I knew you had lost favor with her. But didn’t know the details as to why.”
“One day I’ll tell you. But not today. I’m not ready.”
Wow, Birdie hadn’t expected for Mary-Lou to be just as reticent to discuss Maisie as she was. Didn’t seem possible that someone else harbored secrets connected to her devious little sister.
“Believe me, I’m not proud of some of the decisions I made in my youth either. For whatever it’s worth.”
The crunch of gravel alerted her that Angus and Mia were pulling into Bernadette’s driveway. Mary-Lou noticed the car as well and turned to Birdie with a rushed expression on her face. “I was hoping we could be friends? I don’t have a lot of them. Probably rightly so. But maybe we could get a drink at the Whiskey House? Catch up sometime?”
Never, in a million years, did Birdie think this conversation possible. She smiled. A genuine one. Not one pasted on her face. “I’d like that.”
Mia was trying to keep up with Angus, who was making a beeline toward the ladies converged at the side of the house. Eager, she was sure, to have their undivided attention.
“I’ll let you go. And thank you, Birdie.”
“No, thank you. You can’t have too many friends.”
“Oh, one more thing,” Mary-Lou said. “Maisie kept a diary. If you haven’t stumbled across it yet, I highly suggest you look for it. You know, if you want… answers. You may not, and I totally get that. But just in case you do, you’re going to want to read it.”
“I have no idea where to even look.” And then she recalled a certain spiral notebook held in the shaking hands of a raging Shelby Wellborn.
“She used to change up the hiding places for it, to keep it from being discovered by your mother. But if she didn’t take it with her when y’all left town, I’d bet money it’s hidden in her bedroom somewhere.”
Mary-Lou gave Birdie an awkward hug and drove off, leaving Birdie in a daze.
She walked back to the side of the house with her head down, thinking about what Mary-Lou had said, and contemplating whether or not she could force herself back into that house to sift through Maisie’s things. According to Angus, everything had been left as is, probably waiting on the new owner to sift through the contents.
As she drew nearer to the tittering women, trying their best to capture Angus’s attention, she noticed a strange look on his face she had never seen before. Quiet and unnaturally subdued as he nodded absently to their comments, his attention consumed by something or somebody standing near the kitchen door.
