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IT’S NOT THAT TONIGHT’S Harstead family dinner was dysfunctional or even eventful; it was just odd. The dynamic between these seven adults, one baby, and Randall (who was living for the possibility of drama) was uncomfortable at best.
Between courses of butternut squash bisque and pot roast (Randall’s cooking has gone full autumn, despite the unseasonably warm temps), Quinn sat in silence as she watched the interactions between these near strangers. Her father alternated his flirtatious comments between Heather and her Aunt Meryl. Jessie seemed inexplicably jealous of the attention these ladies were getting from Jim. Most surprisingly, Aiden focused solely on Evie, whom he bounced on his lap while ignoring his dinner. Yes, her dear husband, who continues to vehemently deny ever wanting a child in their lives, is now utterly smitten with the soon-to-be one-year-old.
Matt seems oblivious to Jessie’s desperate desire to regain his father’s admiration and instead is entirely transfixed on the pecan tart Randall just delivered to the table.
“Aiden, why don’t you let me take her so you can enjoy some dessert?” Heather asks, holding her arms open to accept Evie.
“Nonsense. I’m sure you miss plenty of hot meals as a single mother,” Aiden answers. He takes a small spoonful of Evie’s pile of mush and makes airplane noises as his arm glides through the air and the baby’s giggles are enough to make everyone at the table smile.
“You’ve got a good man,” Heather tells Quinn.
Quinn rubs Aiden’s arm to show the rest of the table that she knows what a good man he is, but she’s also quietly a little annoyed at this sudden behavior change. Aiden rarely pays attention to any child in the room, and he even stepped back from being involved in operations at Camp Shady Oaks when the rambunctious pre-teens became a little too much. He's still President of the organization that operates the camp, but his involvement is almost entirely financial. Quinn worries that his change in demeanor toward babies is going to make everyone think that she’s the reason they aren’t having children when it’s very much been a unanimous decision.
Quinn leans back in her chair, which gives her a direct line of vision into the kitchen. She catches Randall’s eye and gives him a wink, which is the signal to wrap things up and help get her guests out of there. They agreed upon this gesture last year when Aiden’s extended family came to town for an early Thanksgiving celebration and differing political opinions became the not-so-pleasant topic of discussion. Once Randall reappeared in the dining room and began clearing plates, everyone seemed to take the hint and began saying their goodbyes. Unbeknownst to Aiden, Quinn snuck back into the kitchen that night while Randall was cleaning up and they decided that having a secret signal was necessary now that Quinn was beginning to have people in her home again, people that might overstay their welcome.
Jessie, Matt, and Jim were rising from their chairs before Randall had the last of the plates cleared. Quinn gave herself a mental reminder to significantly increase his Christmas bonus this year.
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“SO, JESSIE AND YOUR brother? That’s a little unexpected, yeah?” Heather asks Quinn after getting Evie to sleep in one of the guestrooms.
“Unexpected would be putting it lightly,” Quinn mumbles as she inserts her electric corkscrew into a bottle of Cabernet.
Quinn was delighted to see Meryl’s excitement over the spa-like amenities at her house. It also made her somewhat disappointed in herself that she’s gotten used to this life of luxury, something she never dreamed would happen after her modest upbringing. After enjoying an after-dinner sauna session to “burn the calories from all the delicious food that damn chef forced on us,” she then selected a single-use mud mask packet from the guest bathroom and is currently soaking in the jacuzzi tub, with one of the Real Housewives shows playing on the small flatscreen in the corner of the bathroom. Randall generously made her an after-dinner cocktail to take with her. Both women knew they wouldn’t be hearing from Mer for a while.
“It’s a nice night, want to sit outside for a while?” Quinn asks as she fetches two wine glasses down from the cupboard. “Aiden is in work mode; he’ll probably be on that computer half the night.”
“I’d love to. I brought the baby monitor in case Evie fusses,” Heather responds.
“Let her fuss, Aiden will probably handle it himself at this point,” Quinn quips.
Heather gives a quick laugh before saying “I couldn’t believe how good he was with her at dinner. I had no idea he was into babies.”
“I learn something new about that man every day,” Quinn gives a tight smile.
There is something about the kind of intoxication that comes from sharing an expensive bottle of wine with a friend under the stars that makes you lose just enough good sense to say things you normally wouldn’t dream of.
In addition to mild insults about her husband’s commitment to work, Quinn dances around the idea of telling Heather all her secrets. She’s not sure what it is about her, but she feels like she could trust her with the deepest, darkest ones.
Heather opens the door by telling Quinn about her questionable feelings toward Mitch. She appreciates that Heather doesn’t apologize for it, she simply states how she’s feeling and admits she doesn’t know if it’s a good idea to start a new relationship with everything going on in her life. She also notices a slight twinkle in her eye when she talks about him, but nowhere near the smile that’s plastered on her face as she details her theories about Meryl and Frank being secretly in love. Quinn laughs so hard she cries when Heather tells her the lengths the two have gone to hide their flirtation.
As she pours her third glass, Quinn does the unthinkable. She tells Heather the biggest secret she holds.
Jessie’s secret.
It’s out of her lips before she can stop the words from spilling out.
It may be the wine or the light of the full moon playing tricks on her, but Heather Green does not seem very surprised to hear that Jessie is the Shady Oaks killer.
Quinn attempts to backtrack her betrayal by adding “I can’t tell you I wouldn’t have made the same decision in her position.”
“Oh, you and I both,” Heather responds. “If that night played out exactly how Jessie told you it did, I really place very little fault on her. From everything I heard, Cassie Huntington was a monster and I absolutely believe she attacked Vinny. The important part of this discussion being if these events happened as Jessie described.”
Quinn gives her a look of confusion.
“Jessie obviously has gone great lengths for decades to cover her tracks and make sure nobody can ever pin one or both of the deaths on her.”
Quinn, still confused, says “Yes, I suppose she has.”
Heather continues.
“So, that janitor who everyone suspected, I can’t think of his name...”
“Jack,” Quinn volunteers.
“Yes, Jack. The man whose future was so bleak that he took his own life and became the top suspect for decades. Who is to say Jessie didn’t kill him and make it look like a suicide?”
Quinn sits up straight.
“Heather, she was sixteen years old.”
“My friend, I think she quit being sixteen the minute she held another girl’s head underwater until she stopped breathing.”
The truth is, until this very moment, Quinn never considered the possibility Jessie had anything to do with Jack’s death. He was a sad, desolate man who never got over the death of his brother and took his own life at the very camp that claimed his brother’s decades earlier...right?