2000
In the car outside the strip mall, Ginny dried her eyes with the last of the tissues she’d found in her glove compartment. She needed to clean up before going to pick up Jason.
She got out of her car and headed for the yogurt shop at the end of the mall. Without looking at anyone, she headed straight for the ladies room and locked the door behind her, almost gagging at the overwhelming scent of lavender air freshener. The mirror showed her eyes were still red and swollen, and her nose was starting to run again. She unwound some toilet paper and blew her nose, then splashed cold water on her face. She had already cried off all of her makeup. Thoughts of Grizz, Tommy, the kids, everything, all swirled around her. She didn’t know how long she stood there, bent over the sink, taking in large gulps of lavender air.
Someone jiggled the door. “Be out in a sec,” she said flatly.
She used a paper towel to dry her face, then headed back out to her car without making eye contact with anyone in the store.
Less than ten minutes later, she pulled up to Max’s house and beeped her horn. She could’ve gone inside to get Jason. She liked Max’s mother. Denise Reynolds was genuinely sweet, but Ginny just didn’t have it in her to make small talk. Besides, she couldn’t trust herself not to fall apart. She needed to talk to someone. Carter. She would call Carter when she got home.
Sarah Jo wouldn’t have been a good option. Ginny knew how much Jo loved Tommy. Jo and Tommy had a special history, and even though Carter had become close to both Ginny and Tommy over the years, she could be counted on to be more loyal to Ginny.
Did Sarah Jo know? Ginny’s heart pounded. Oh no. She couldn’t even bear to think about that. No. She wouldn’t jump to conclusions.
Just then, the front door of Max’s house swung open and a miniature version of Tommy bounded out, calling over his shoulder, “Later, dude.”
She stared at her son. The son that Tommy had suggested they name after Grizz. Now she knew why. Grizz was actually Jason’s grandfather. Her head started spinning. This is not happening.
Something nagged at her as she watched Jason approach the car. When they made eye contact, he broke into a wide grin. Her heart swelled with love for him. He looked just like his father. She had a déjà vu moment of a memory she couldn’t place. She’d had it before, but could never conjure up a specific incident. Was it something she remembered about Tommy at this age? No. It couldn’t have been. She didn’t know Tommy when he was this young.
It was something else, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what it was.
“Hi, Mom!” Jason tossed his bag into the back seat and climbed into the front passenger seat.
Ginny smiled at him, leaning over the console for a hug. He was such an affectionate child. Just like his father. She kissed his forehead as he started to buckle his seatbelt.
“How was your stay with the Reynolds? Did you have fun with Max?” she asked as she backed out of the driveway.
Max’s mother had come out to the front porch and waved. Ginny beeped the horn twice in acknowledgement as she drove off.
“Yeah, a lot of fun. Mrs. Reynolds made homemade ice cream last night! Can we do that some time? It was really good.”
“Yeah, sure, I guess.”
“Mrs. Reynolds told me to tell you all my clothes in my bag are clean. She did laundry last night. She didn’t want me to go home with dirty clothes.” Before Ginny could comment, he added, “I got to help Polly wash her car this morning after church.”
Ginny glanced at her son. “You got to help her?” she asked, laughing.
“Yeah, she said I was the best washer!” he replied excitedly. “And an even better drier!”
“I’m sure you are, honey. I’m sure you are.” Ginny smiled to herself. Max had two older sisters, Sarah and Pollyanna. Jason had been in love with both of them since he was eight. He could never decide which one he loved more. Of course, they were way too old for Jason. Polly was a senior in high school and Sarah was in college. She was sure both girls loved Jason like a little brother. More than likely, they found him as annoying as a little brother, as well. But they were nice girls. Always sweet to him. She appreciated that.
She wished Mimi were nicer to Jason, she thought as she drove the short trip back to the house. It wasn’t that Mimi wasn’t nice. She just wasn’t interested in her little brother. Ginny couldn’t explain it. It was something she had discussed more than once with Tommy. Mimi was never outright mean to Jason, but she wasn’t a loving older sister. At least not anymore. Call it mother’s intuition, but to Ginny, it sometimes seemed as if Mimi was incapable of feelings. Ginny couldn’t put her finger on it. And to make matters worse, Tommy couldn’t see it, always saying she was imagining things. Once he’d even told her she was too paranoid about Mimi being Grizz’s biological daughter.
“Gin, you are subconsciously afraid that Mimi is too much like Grizz,” he’d said. “I told you more than once that Grizz wasn’t born that way. Grizz had a horrible childhood. Mimi didn’t inherit Grizz’s inability to care about people. It was something he turned off as a result of his abuse. Stop thinking about it.”
But she couldn’t help it. She knew about Grizz’s childhood. He’d told her a little bit about it when she was pregnant that first time and they were still living at the motel. It was a neglectful childhood, not abusive. But Ginny had been neglected as a child, too, and she didn’t murder people.
Mimi hadn’t always been that way. Something had changed in Mimi a couple of years ago, almost as if a switch had been flipped. Mimi went from being a sweet, thoughtful child to a distant and detached one. Ginny wanted to have her daughter talk to someone, but everyone insisted that Mimi was just being a typical teenager.
Jason chattered non-stop the entire ride home. Ginny felt a little guilty for blocking him out, but her mind was elsewhere. She hoped Tommy would be gone when she got home. She didn’t think she would be able to face him.
“Mom? Mom? How come you won’t answer me?”
Ginny gave Jason a sidelong glance. “Sorry, sweetie. Did you ask me something?”
“Yeah, I asked if you thought Dad had the strap on my helmet fixed. He promised before you guys went out of town that we could take a ride on his motorcycle when I got home today.”
Before she could even answer him, Jason continued, “Where were you guys the last couple of days?”
“I don’t know about your helmet, but if your father told you he had it fixed, then I’m sure he had it fixed. And you know where we were. We told you we went to see an old friend before he left town.”
“That’s not what Corbin said.” And before Ginny could respond, he blurted, “Corbin said you and Dad went to see some guy get fried.”