The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs by Dicks Matthew

Author:Dicks, Matthew [Dicks, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

fourteen

“What the hell are we doing in here?” Polly whispered between clenched teeth.

“I don’t know,” Caroline whispered back. “What was I supposed to do?” A second ago she was hugging the woman who she had despised for more than half of her life. Now she was sitting on the leather sofa in her living room, waiting for lemonade and cookies.

“Why did you say yes to lemonade?” Polly asked. “Say what you have to say so we can get out of here.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is,” Polly said. “Point your finger at her and tell her that she was a bitch and a bully is high school and that you hope she burns in hell. Then leave. It’s not that hard.”

Caroline sighed. “I’m not—”

“I hope you like oatmeal-raisin,” Emily said, reentering the room. “It’s all I have left.”

“Great,” Caroline said, thankful for the intrusion.

“I just ate,” Polly said. “And Samuel Johnson thought oatmeal was best fed to horses.”

Emily took a seat and slid tall glasses, complete with lemon wedges and sprigs of mint, over to Caroline and Polly. “Too bad for Samuel Johnson, then. More cookies for us.”

Emily had become a woman who garnished lemonade with mint.

“I just can’t believe that you’re here,” she said. “It’s been so long. Have you been back to Blackstone since you left for college?”

“My mother still lives here,” Caroline said. “So yes. But now that we’re in Maryland, I don’t get back not very often.”

“Mom doesn’t like Blackstone,” Polly said.

“That’s not true,” Caroline said. “I have some good memories from this place. It’s just that I have some not-so-good memories, too. It’s not always easy to come back.”

“Of course,” Emily said. “It must be so hard for you.”

“Why did you name your house?” Polly asked.

“Oh, that was my husband’s idea. He thinks that giving a house a name is a sign of respect for the work that went into it.”

“What does the name mean?” Polly asked.

“It’s an Aboringal dialect. It means ‘where the birds sing.’”

“You speak Aborigine?” Polly asked.

“No,” Emily said. “But Randy spent a semester in Australia and fell in love with the country.”

“You have a lot of birds then?”

“Not really. It’s more of a metaphor.”

“A metaphor for what?”

“I don’t know,” Emily said. “A place where birds would want to sing.”

“Maybe you should hang out some bird feeders,” Polly said. “So the name would at least make some sense.”

“Polly,” Caroline said.

“It’s okay,” Emily said. “My daughter’s the same way. Curious about everything.”

“You have kids?” Caroline asked.

“Yes. Jake and Jane,” Emily said, causing Polly to groan a little too loud. “Jake is twelve, and Jane is fifteen. She’ll be home any minute. Jake is in middle school, so he gets home an hour later than Jane, which is nice. It gives us some time alone every afternoon when I’m not stuck at the shop. Girl time. You know?”

“Oh yeah,” Polly said. “Mom and I are practically attached at the hip. Right, Mom?”

They were interrupted by the opening of the front door.

“Mom! I’m home!”

“In the living room,” Emily called.

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