113

There wasn’t a lot of mumbo jumbo when me and Paulie held Tommie’s hands and walked her outside to where her mother waited on the lawn. I might have been able to do that all along. If I had known how.

“Good-bye, Evie,” she said. “Tell my daddy I love him. He doesn’t need me anymore. I can go on.” She smiled. “Thank you.”

I swallowed at a hedgehog lodged in my throat. “I’ll miss you.”

“Don’t you worry,” she said. “I’ll be waiting for you when you come on over.”

Uh.

Then she was gone.

“For good?” I asked Paulie.

He nodded. “Just needed someone this side of the veil,” he said, “who loved her to show the way. That’s all. Pointing them to the light.”

And from the porch Aunt Odie said, “Makes sense.”

I stood in the yard, the sky so clear I could see every star.

“Helping her go will ease up some of this grief,” Paulie said. “It stayed so heavy ’cause she got caught.”

“What about those people at your place?” I asked Paulie.

“What people?” Aunt Odie asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” I said.

“Different clientele,” Paulie said. “They’re not stuck. Just want to help those left behind.”

I nodded. Stared at the sky again.

When we walked back into the house, everyone looked at us, wide-eyed.

“Where’s my daughter?” JimDaddy asked.

“She’s gone on,” I said.

Momma stood. Took a deep breath. “They’re both right here,” she said, gesturing at me and Baby Lucy. JimDaddy nodded, pulled me into a hug. Momma handed him Baby Lucy, who laughed and pointed at the ceiling as he held her.