Ruth had been disappointed that Olivia didn’t show up to see the house on Nickerson, but she told herself there was plenty of time for that later. The more she thought about the house, the more she loved it, and she wanted Olivia to share in the excitement with her. It was something they could bond over: a new home for this new chapter in their lives together. It would be the place Olivia would visit, where she’d bring her own children someday.
But not only did Olivia fail to show up to tour the house with her, she didn’t return to Shell Haven that night or for several nights after. She did not answer Ruth’s texts or calls. The only reason Ruth didn’t panic was that Marco assured her that she was fine, that she was just busy. They were just doing their thing.
But Ruth knew something wasn’t right.
After a call to Marco, she located Olivia sorting oysters by size at a metal table inside the shed behind the Barroses’ house.
“What are you doing here?” Olivia said with a level of irritation Ruth had not heard in her voice since the beginning of the summer.
“I came to visit,” Ruth said. “I haven’t seen you in days.”
“I’m working, Mother,” Olivia said, scribbling information on a white tag and then attaching the tag to a mesh bag.
“Yes, I see. I’m so happy that you found something that—”
“Oh, save it!” Olivia snapped.
Ruth pressed her hand to her chest. Before she could respond, Olivia said, “I know you’ve been lying all this time about Mira. I know Jaci is her mother.”
Ruth leaned against the table. “She told you?”
Olivia shook her head. “No. Of course not. And Marco doesn’t know. But he should know. I confided in you the other day, not only about my relationship with Marco but about the problems they were having with Jaci. They didn’t understand why she wanted to run off so quickly, and you just stood there nodding, knowing this giant secret the whole time! How could you keep this from me? How could you keep this from Lidia?”
Ruth flinched at the mention of Lidia. The thought of her, more than anything, was keeping her up at night. Lidia’s granddaughter was right there but living blocks away instead of under her roof. No matter what Jaci said about the baby being a potential burden to her parents, Ruth knew in her heart that was not how the Barroses would feel.
“I promised Jaci…” But that wasn’t entirely true. She had actually promised Amelia, although this was not something she could share. It wouldn’t do to implicate Amelia.
“You cannot keep this secret. It’s wrong. And it’s putting me in a terrible position with Marco. If he finds out that I knew about this…”
“So why would you have wanted me to tell you?”
“I want you to do the right thing! You’re an adult. A mother! How can you let her pull this crazy stunt with the baby? You always do things like this.”
“Always do things like what?”
“You avoid, avoid, avoid. You check out when a situation gets inconvenient. But I can’t let you do that this time.”
“Olivia, this isn’t our business. I agree, the truth has to come out. But the time and place for that is not ours to decide.”
“Not our business? I’m in a relationship with Marco. I’m involved with that family. It is my business. But I can’t be the one to do this. Jaci will never forgive me, and I need to have a relationship with her. What if Marco and I end up together?”
Ruth bit her lip. “Is it that serious?”
“I don’t know! But I don’t want this between us. You have to do something. And I’m not coming back to Shell Haven—or talking to you—until you do.”
“Ignore Bianca,” Amelia said.
After a nonstop afternoon at Tea by the Sea, Elise wanted to hunker down at Shell Haven with Mira, have a glass of wine, and shut out the world. Instead, she was covered in sequins, glitter, and glue in Amelia’s art studio, helping to make decorations for Carnival.
Elise looked at Fern.
Fern, a sequin stuck to the side of her face, put down her glue and said, “It’s not that simple. She’s threatening us.”
Amelia waved the words away. “I’ve known Bianca since she was this high. Her bark is worse than her bite.”
Again, Elise turned to her wife, who seemed unmoved by this comment.
Elise didn’t know what to make of Fern’s behavior in the past few weeks. She had been certain she would use Bianca’s threat as an excuse to go right to the Department of Children and Families. Instead, she appeared determined to do just the opposite. She’d been acting strangely in general: Leaving the room to answer phone calls. Taking a midweek trip to Boston that seemed to have little to do with the weekend farmers’ markets. But at the same time, she wasn’t pulling away from her; if anything, Fern seemed more devoted and acted more loving than she ever had before.
It was unsettling.
Now that Fern wasn’t pushing the issue of going through the “proper channels,” Elise felt her own urgency to initiate adoption proceedings. She wanted to make things official with Mira. The insecurity and worry about the future was starting to outweigh her fear of getting a government agency involved.
“I think it’s time to call a lawyer,” Elise had said just before turning out the lights the night before.
“We’re not going to let Bianca bully us,” Fern had said.
Elise was starting to get a Twilight Zone feeling; apparently, she was the only one who recognized the precariousness of the situation.
Now, faced with Amelia and Fern in agreement, she decided she would have to speak up more firmly. “I don’t think we should take any chances,” Elise said. “I can’t sleep at night wondering if Bianca is going to make the phone call that we should be making. This whole process will be messed up if it starts that way. I can’t wait any longer.”
Fern and Amelia exchanged a look that completely excluded Elise. The glance was so weighted, Elise wondered if she had imagined it. Fern pulled Mira from her car seat and cradled her in her arms.
“What? What’s going on?” Elise said.
Amelia smiled at her and reached across the table to place her hand on top of hers. “Don’t act out of fear,” she said.
Elise sat with that a minute and finally understood she had been acting out of fear of losing Mira all summer—that was what had gotten her into this predicament.
“I’m trying not to,” Elise said, looking to Fern for backup. “That’s why I want to make this call. There’s something I didn’t tell you. Either of you. Brian Correia stopped by the house last month. Someone reported the baby. He believed me when I explained that we were in the process of adopting. But I realize now that I should have told him the truth.”
Amelia patted her hand. “A little more time,” she said.
Fern nodded her agreement.
Elise had never felt more afraid.