Cars lined both sides of the street in front of the Weidmans’ house. Mary Bliss sat in the backseat of the black limo, clutching her untouched Bloody Mary.
“I thought I was done caring what people think,” she said, leaning forward to look out the tinted glass window. “But now I’m not so sure. I’m not sure I can do this. Not again. Everybody knows. They know I lied. They know Parker’s back. They probably even know cops were swarming all over the church during the funeral.”
“Oh, who cares?” Katharine said briskly. “Don’t make yourself so important. Sure, everybody’s talking about you right now. But that’ll be over in five minutes. As soon as the next scandal du jour hits the street.”
“A scandal bigger than my faking my husband’s own death?” Mary Bliss asked. “What’s bigger than that, in Fair Oaks?”
“Take a look over there,” Katharine said, pointing to the black PT Cruiser edging into a spot at the curb. “Nancye and Randy Bowden are together again. That’s quality gossip right there.”
“What about us?” Charlie asked, nuzzling Katharine’s ear. “We could make an announcement at the luncheon. That’d take some of the heat off Mary Bliss.”
“What announcement?” Mary Bliss asked.
Katharine blushed. “It’s too soon yet. I can’t talk about it.”
“Katharine!” Mary Bliss screeched. “What kind of an announcement? Are you and Charlie getting remarried?”
“We already did,” Charlie said proudly. “We got hitched in Judge Waller’s chambers on Wednesday.”
“I would have told you,” Katharine said apologetically. “But Charlie made me keep it a secret. Chip’s the only one who knows—other than you.”
“That’s wonderful,” Mary Bliss said, beaming. “Then, what else can it be?” She grabbed Katharine’s arm. “Tell me you’re not moving. Anything but that. You can’t move away. I won’t allow it.”
“Go on,” Charlie said, laughing. “Tell the woman. She deserves some good news. You know you want to tell it.”
Katharine’s grin matched Charlie’s. “All right,” she said. “Promise you won’t make fun of me.”
“I swear,” Mary Bliss said quickly. “Now tell me before I die of curiosity.”
“Okay,” Katharine said. “It’s the most ridiculous, outrageous thing you ever heard. Even I can’t believe it’s true. But it is. I made the doctor run the test twice to be sure.”
“Test?” Mary Bliss furrowed her brow. She glanced over at Katharine’s plastic Bloody Mary cup in the armrest holder, which was also untouched. “Are you telling me…”
“I’m pregnant!” Katharine screamed, throwing one arm around Charlie and the other around Mary Bliss. “Can you believe it?”
Now it was Charlie’s turn to beam. “She’s six weeks pregnant as of Saturday. As far as I’m concerned, it’s official. Isn’t it amazing?”
“That’s why he had to marry me,” Katharine said. “Otherwise, I would have been the world’s oldest unwed mother.”
“That’s not true,” Charlie said quickly. “I never wanted a divorce in the first place. And I’d been begging you to marry me again way before we found out about the baby.”
“Amazing,” Mary Bliss repeated, looking from Charlie to Katharine. “But when? Charlie’s been so sick. I can’t believe…”
“Do the math,” Katharine said, giggling. “The Fourth of July dance, you fool.”
“Oh my God,” Mary Bliss said, her eyes widening.
“Oh my God is right,” Katharine said. She planted a kiss on Charlie’s forehead. “The old fool nearly killed himself doing it, but he managed to knock me up that night. Can you believe it?”
“That’s amazing,” Mary Bliss said. She felt her mood lifting. Katharine and Charlie were holding hands, laughing their heads off, like a couple of high school kids who’d just let the air out of the principal’s tires.
“Here’s the part you’ll love,” Charlie said, a twinkle in his eye. “The baby’s due April first.”
“April Fool’s Day,” Katharine chortled. “Isn’t it too delicious?”
“It’s the best, most wonderful news I’ve heard all summer,” Mary Bliss said. She was choking up with happiness. “And I can’t believe you tried to keep it a secret from me,” she added, giving Charlie a playful punch on the arm.
“Oh, he’s full of secrets,” Katharine said, squeezing her husband’s knee. “But I’m surprised you didn’t notice something was up with us. Charlie’s been strutting around like the cock of the walk ever since we found out. And I’ve been green every morning.”
“But you were drinking wine with me, just the other night,” Mary Bliss objected.
“No. You were drinking, I was just swirling it around in my glass, inhaling the bouquet, enjoying it vicariously,” Katharine said. “That’s the only thing I mind about being pregnant. Do you realize I’ll have to get through Christmas and New Year’s without a drink?”
“I’m your best friend,” Mary Bliss said loyally. “I’ll drink enough for both of us.”
They heard a polite tapping on the limousine’s window then. Charlie pushed the button and the window slid down noiselessly.
It was Carol Kuhn, small, blonde, perturbed. She was holding a plastic-wrapped bundt cake in her hand. “Aren’t you people coming in yet? My sour-cream cake is starting to curdle in this heat.”
“You ready?” Katharine asked Mary Bliss.
Mary Bliss picked up the Bloody Mary and chugged it down. “I am now,” she said grimly.
Katharine’s house was full of flower arrangements that had been brought over from the church. Her massive cherry dining table had been pulled out to full banquet size and the white damask cloth was barely visible under the bowls and platters of food that had been arriving steadily all morning.
Mary Bliss gritted her teeth and waded into the crowd.
“Mary Bliss!” cooed Nancye Bowden, stopping her cold in the doorway to the living room.
“Hello, Nancye,” Mary Bliss said. “Thank you for coming.”
Randy hovered right behind Nancye, his hand gripped firmly in hers.
“We’re so sorry about Parker’s mama,” Nancye said. She let go of Randy’s hand just long enough to readjust the black bra strap that was sliding down her shoulder. “I know Parker was totally devoted to her. Is he around? We want to give him our condolences.”
“I’m sure he’s here somewhere,” Mary Bliss said, her voice flat. “We came back from church in separate cars.”
“So I noticed,” Nancye purred. “He gave us quite a shock, turning up today the way he did. But I have to admit, he looks marvelous. So tan and fit. Death really becomes him.”
“Nancye!” Randy’s face went gray. Nancye shot him an evil look and drifted away.
“I’m sorry,” Randy mumbled, staring down at his shoes. “She doesn’t mean anything by it. That’s just the way Nancye is. She’s got this weird, sick sense of humor.”
“It’s all right,” Mary Bliss said. “I brought it on myself. So I deserve to be the brunt of people’s jokes.”
“No, you don’t,” Randy said quickly. “None of this was your fault. You’ve been magnificent, if you ask me. It’s been the summer from hell, yet you’ve managed to survive. I wish I had your…” He shook his head, as if hoping to shake the right word loose. “Your survivor’s skills. I guess that’s what I’m looking for.”
“You survived,” Mary Bliss said. “The kids are okay. You’re okay. And you and Nancye?”
“We’re going to try and make the marriage work again,” Randy said. “For the sake of the little guys. And Josh. I’ve been offered a job down in Macon, and I’ve accepted it. Nancye agrees that we probably need to make a complete break from our past here. So we’ve put the house on the market.”
“I saw the FOR SALE sign,” Mary Bliss said. “I understand, but it still makes me sad. And Erin will be devastated to lose Josh just now.”
“She won’t lose him,” Randy said. “We promised him he could finish his senior year at Fair Oaks Academy. My younger sister just got transferred to Atlanta. She and Josh will stay in the house until it sells, then he’ll move in with her until May. Until graduation.”
“I’m glad,” Mary Bliss said. “For Josh and for you guys. And see? You’re a survivor after all. At least, your marriage is.”
“But not yours?” Randy asked. “What about you and Parker?”
Mary Bliss wasn’t looking at Randy. Her eyes were scanning the room, looking for that carefully coiffed hair, the myopic now-blue eyes, and the gold chain gleaming against the deep tan. She saw him finally, scrunched into a corner, deep in conversation with a blue-haired woman of at least eighty who must have been one of Eula’s buddies. He looked perfectly miserable.
“What?” she asked, looking back suddenly at Randy. “What did you just ask me?”
“I asked about you and Parker,” Randy said. He’d seen where Mary Bliss was looking. “Whether or not you’ll stay together after all this.”
“Together?” Mary Bliss seemed to find that funny. “How could that be? I killed him off. And he came back a different person.”
“Oh.” Randy shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I better find the kids, before they mow their way through the dessert table. See you.”
“Yeah,” Mary Bliss said vaguely. “See you.”
When she looked back at the corner where Parker had stood only moments earlier, he was gone. She elbowed her way into the living room, but he wasn’t there. A group of men were clustered around the big-screen television in the den, watching the Braves game, but Parker wasn’t with them. Finally, she worked her way back into the dining room, over to the corner, where she found the blue-haired woman picking at a plate of squash casserole and deviled eggs.
“Excuse me,” she said. “I’m Mary Bliss McGowan.”
“Darlin’,” the old woman said, beaming up at her. “Don’t you remember me? I’m Joyce Boore. I was at your wedding to Parker. Don’t you remember? Eula and I were roommates at church camp.”
“Oh yes,” Mary Bliss said. “So nice of you to come. I do remember you now. Do you know where Parker went? I really need to speak to him for a moment.”
She raised one blue eyebrow. “He said he had to see about something in the kitchen. But, sugar, I was just out in the kitchen, looking for some more iced tea, and I saw him slipping out the back door.”
“When?” Mary Bliss asked. “How long ago?”
“Just now,” Mrs. Boore said. “Not two minutes ago.”
Mary Bliss rushed through the dining room and into the kitchen. Katharine’s longtime maid, Valeria, was at the sink, rinsing off dishes.
“Valeria,” Mary Bliss said sharply. “Have you seen my husband?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Valeria said, not bothering to look up from the sink. “He came in here and made a phone call a little while ago. Called a cab, I believe. He waited a little bit, then he scooted on out of here not even a minute ago.”
Mary Bliss sprinted for the back door. Her heels sank into the Weidmans’ plush grass. She kicked off her shoes and ran around to the front yard. A yellow cab was just pulling into the circular drive. She saw a man, dressed in a tan suit, half hidden behind one of the entry columns.
“Parker!” she yelled.
He turned, saw who was yelling for him, then darted over to the cab.
“No,” she yelled, running to the drive. “No!”