The Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman

Author:Alice Hoffman [Hoffman, Alice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-10-06T17:59:30+00:00

lected to attend a meeting at Mark Derry’s house to discuss the di—>i rection the defense fund should take, dozing dreamlessly not realizing her mistake until Mark called, concerned. Lately, she’s been remembering that as a child she’d been afraid of the dark. She had to leave every light on in her room at night and had been especially frightened , of the spaces in the closet and beneath the bed. Before she goes to sleep she once again checks those places with a flashlight, just to reassure herself that she’s safe, at least for the time being.

It’s unusual for the sisters to be sitting outside together, for them to be talking at all. Jorie and Anne have always been at odds, vying for their mother’s affections; they’ve been so distant that Jorie hadn’t even known anything was wrong with Anne’s marriage until Anne and Gigi arrived with their suitcases in March. Funny how they enjoy being out on the lawn together on this evening; they don’t have to speak to each other if they don’t want to, they don’t have to pretend to be polite. No traffic goes by. No dogs bark in the distance, out where there are still orchards and fields.

“Charlotte is sick,” Jorie says.

“So I’ve heard. News travels fast.”

“I need someone to talk to, and I can’t talk to her. I can’t burden her with my problems on top of everything she’s going through.”

Anne snickers. “Oh, sure, but you can burden me.”

The sisters laugh, but Jorie’s laughter veers off course and she covers her mouth with her hand, the way she always used to when they were children and she was trying to hold back tears.

“Don’t do it,” Anne warns. “I’m a terrible shoulder to cry on. You know that. I ‘m the worst. I have no sympathy for anyone, and I always say the wrong thing. Even Gigi confides in Mom instead of me.”

“ I have to decide whether or not to sell the house. I Ve never made a decision like that on my own.”

“Welcome to the real world.” Anne takes back the glass of Chardonnay and raises it in a toast. “Herein is the place where no one can tell you whether or not you’ve done the right thing. But actually, I never did like that house. Too perfect.”

“Did you ever think there was something wrong with him? Did you know something I didn’t know?”

“About Ethan? No. He seemed totally normal to me. Frankly, he seemed great. But look at who I was married to. Do you know Trent has seen Gigi exactly twice since we moved out here, and if I hadn’t taken her down to Boston when he was in town on business, he probably wouldn’t have even done that much.”

“That’s not a crime,” Jorie reminds her.

“Yeah, well, it is in my book. But I guess you’re right. It’s not the same. If it makes any difference, Mom still thinks the world of Ethan. She’ll stand by him, do or die. She’s ready to back him all the way guilty or not.

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