Things could be better on the home front.
I had failed to keep my promise—make that promises—to Sarah that I’d stop getting mixed up in these kinds of messes. It’s a knack I seem to have developed of late, and I’d like very much to lose it. Sometimes, you make one mistake, and it’s like knocking over that first domino. I’d already allowed a couple of dozen to tip over, and had no idea how far down the row I was.
Lawrence Jones phoned. “You should have called me,” he said.
“Believe me, if it had been possible, I would have,” I said.
“How’s it going?”
“Sarah mentioned the other night that maybe we should…that maybe we should try some time apart.”
“Jeez,” Lawrence said. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. I mean, I think she loves me. But look at what I’ve done, Lawrence. Look at the things I’ve fallen into. I’m a menace to my loved ones. Maybe I’ll just go back to writing science fiction novels. Keep to myself. Lock myself in a room someplace, where I’m not going to get into trouble, drag my family in with me.”
“I’d offer to let you bunk in with me for a while, but I think you’d drive me out of my mind.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess we’ll see how it plays out,” I said.
“Good luck, man,” Lawrence said.
A couple of weeks after the dust all settled, and we had our own car back, and Sarah had returned to work every day and I was home, still trying to figure out what to do, Trixie—she’d actually gone back, legally, to Miranda Chicoine but I still have a hard time thinking of her by that name—dropped by with Katie.
It was after Sarah had gotten home from work, and we both got to the front door at the same time.
When Sarah saw who it was, she began to retreat into the house. “I’ll let you two talk,” she said.
But I took Sarah’s hand and pulled her, gently, to my side, preventing her escape.
“We just came by to say goodbye,” Trixie said.
“Where you off to?” I asked.
“Out west,” Trixie said. “Seattle, maybe San Francisco. I’m looking at a few things.”
Sarah and I stepped out onto the porch. Katie slipped away from her mother and ran her fingers along the posts in the railing.
“How’s she doing?” Sarah asked.
Trixie smiled sadly. “She’s been through a lot. She sleeps with me. She’s afraid to let me out of her sight. It’s going to take a long time for her to ever feel secure again. Everything I do now is going to be for her. I’m starting over, with Katie. I’m selling the house in Oakwood. And there’s Claire and Don’s estate to settle.” Her eyes were moist. “My lawyer, Niles, is trying to get my three hundred thousand back. The police still have it, they retrieved it from the car after the accident, but they’re holding on to it as evidence. Niles says eventually we’ll be able to get it back. They can’t prove that I’m not entitled to it. But you know what? Even if we don’t, we have plenty to start over with, get another house somewhere, close to a good school. I want to always be there for her, so I might try to get some sort of job that allows me to work from home.” She smiled again. “But something different this time. That other job, that’s over.”
Trixie’s GF300 car was parked at the curb. Sarah and I walked with her to the end of the driveway. Katie wandered in dizzying circles in the front yard, arms extended, like she was an airplane.
Trixie looked at Katie. Her lip trembled slightly, and then she looked at us.
“I came here to thank both of you. For saving Katie. For saving my daughter’s life.” She hugged Sarah, put her arms around her and held her close, and then hugged me, whispering into my ear, “Thank you for explaining things to the police. About what happened in Canborough.”
“Sure,” I said as she pulled away.
Then Trixie turned back to Sarah. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve brought into your life.”
Sarah started to say something, but Trixie, tipping her head toward me, continued, “I know you want to kill him.”
Sarah made no protests.
“If he were my husband, I’d probably want to kill him too. He’s very possibly one of the biggest pains in the ass I have ever known. And I envy you every day that you’ve got him.”
Sarah swallowed.
“If this helps,” Trixie said, looking right into Sarah’s eyes, “I’m going to make you a promise.” Trixie took a breath. “You’re never going to see me again.”
Neither Sarah nor I said anything. Trixie watched Katie playing in the yard, wiped a tear that was just starting to make its way down her cheek. “She’s my little girl. I hope, if I do right by her now, she can forgive me for all the mistakes I’ve made.” She clapped her hands together. “Katie! Let’s go!”
Trixie led her daughter to her car, buckled her into the safety seat in the back.