Mia flung her hoodie over her head and ran down to the car, getting in.
Lexi was certain she saw Zach shake his head slightly, as if to say, it never happened … it can’t happen. Then he got back into his car.
Lexi watched them drive away, then went back into the trailer, closing the door behind her. He didn’t want her to tell Mia. Was that what he’d meant?
Eva sat at the kitchen table, her hands cupped around her mug. “His car woke me up last night,” she said, looking up. “So I went to the window. I din’t expect you to come home.”
Lexi tried to imagine the scene Eva had witnessed: Lexi practically carrying Mia up the stairs; Mia collapsing on the floor, singing. “I thought we’d be staying at the Farradays’。”
“I’m pretty sure I know why you din’t.”
Lexi sat down across from Eva. “I’m sorry,” she said, too ashamed to make eye contact. Aunt Eva would be disappointed in her now, maybe she’d even wonder if Lexi was like her mother after all.
“You want to talk about it?”
“I didn’t drink anything, if that’s what you think. I saw … my mom drink, so I’m…” She shrugged. There was no way to put all of that emotion into a few careful words. “I didn’t drink anything.”
Eva reached across the table and took hold of Lexi’s hands. “I’m no warden, Alexa. You wouldn’t know it to look at me, but I remember what it’s like to be young, and I know how the world works. A girl can get in real trouble when she’s in that condition. She can make a bad decision. I would hate for you to get hurt.”
“I know.”
“I know you know. And one more thing: Mia and her brother aren’t like you. Those two got choices you don’t. They’ll get breaks you won’t. You understand me?”
Lexi knew that; she’d known it from the first time she walked in the Farraday house. Mia could afford to make mistakes. Lexi couldn’t.
“I’ll be careful.”
“Good.” Eva looked at her. “And about that boy. I seen the way he ran after you. You be careful there, too.”
“He doesn’t like me. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Eva studied her carefully. Lexi wondered what she saw. “You just be careful around him.”
Four
Jude loved her garden in October. It was a time of organization, of planning for the future. She lost herself in the work of planting bulbs, imagining how each choice would alter the garden next spring. And she needed that now, to find a kind of peace.
The past five days had been stressful for her, although she couldn’t exactly say why. She hadn’t wanted the kids to go to the party, but they had, and it had gone uneventfully. Zach had come home right on time, and she’d hugged him tightly （smelling his breath） and sent him to bed. She’d seen no evidence of drinking, and Mia had spent the night with Lexi and come home smiling the next day. Apparently, nothing had gone wrong. So why did she think something had? Maybe Miles was right, and she was seeing problems where none existed.
She sat back on her heels and clapped her hands together to release the dirt clinging to her gloves. Tiny black particles rained down, creating a lacy pattern on her thighs.
She was just about to reach for the clippers lying in the dirt beside her when she heard a car. She looked up, tented a gloved hand across her eyes, and saw sunlight glint off the silver hood of a brand new Mercedes.
“Crap,” she muttered. She’d forgotten about the time.
The car pulled up in front of the low stone wall that outlined her front garden.
Jude pulled off her dirt-caked gloves and stood up as her mother got out of the car. “Hello, Mother.”
Caroline Everson walked around her bullet car and into the vibrant garden with the bearing of an ice pick. She was dressed, as always, winter or summer, in a pair of black wool pants and a fitted blouse that showcased her toned, fit body. Her white hair was drawn back from her angular face; the severity of the style offset her bottle-green eyes to perfection. At seventy, she was still a beautiful woman. And successful; that was what mattered to Caro. Success. “Have you agreed to be on the garden tour yet?”
Jude wished she’d never revealed that little dream to her mother. “It’s not ready yet. Soon, though.”
“Not ready? It’s beautiful.”
Jude heard the derisiveness in her mother’s tone and tried not to let it wound her. Caroline saw no point in hobbies. The end game was what mattered to her mother, and until Jude showed this garden on the island tour, she would somehow be a failure. “Come inside, Mother. Lunch is ready.” Without waiting for a response, Jude led the way toward the front door. On the porch, she slipped out of her gardening clogs, brushed the dirt off her pants, and then went inside.