About ten minutes after Marie and Eva left for Pearl’s old house, Marlow House had another visitor.
“I thought you were going crib shopping, and then I noticed the police car over here, and I wondered what was going on,” Lily said after Walt answered the front door and led her to the parlor, where Danielle, Brian, and Heather sat.
Danielle explained to Lily what had been going on since they’d left Lily’s house. When she finished the telling, she asked, “Did Kelly and Joe leave?”
“Yes. And guess what?” Lily took a seat on an empty chair. Instead of waiting for a response, she said, “Kelly isn’t having a beach wedding in July. They’ve moved the wedding date to March.”
“March? Joe never mentioned that to me,” Brian said. Joe, who worked with Brian at the police station, had asked Brian to be his best man at his upcoming wedding to Lily’s sister-in-law.
Lily looked at Brian. “They only came to that decision last night.”
“I wondered if that might happen when she found out you were pregnant,” Heather said.
Brian looked at Lily. “You’re what?”
Lily looked from Brian to Heather. “You haven’t told him yet?”
“Umm, no.” Heather shrugged. “I’ve sort of been preoccupied since we had breakfast together.”
“You’re really pregnant?” Brian asked Lily.
Lily grinned at Brian and gave her still-flat belly a pat. “Yep. Due the end of July.”
“Ahh, so that’s why the change in wedding date?” Brian asked.
“We told Kelly they could still have the wedding at our place in July, but I understand. I don’t think she wanted to risk the drama if I go into labor during her ceremony.”
“Congratulations. Wow, Connor is going to be a big brother,” Brian said.
“We’re having a regular population explosion on Beach Drive.” Heather glanced at Danielle’s belly.
“So where are Kelly and Joe planning to get married?” Danielle asked.
“I suggested Pearl Cove. Ian and I offered to pay for it as their wedding gift.”
Heather’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s generous.”
“Not sure if they’re going to accept or not. But it would be a way for Kelly to sort of have a beach wedding. At least they’ll have a great view of the ocean. Without worrying about the rain,” Lily explained.
“And if she has it in March, chances are there will be rain,” Heather said.
Their conversation stopped when Marie suddenly appeared, standing in the middle of the parlor.
“Marie is here,” Danielle announced.
“Hi, Marie,” Lily greeted her, even though she couldn’t see the spirit.
“Eva stayed over with Olivia to keep an eye on her. But I wanted to tell you, I know who Olivia is. In fact, I’ve met her. Of course, she was only a child at the time,” Marie explained.
Danielle frowned. “Really?” Danielle went on to tell Brian and Lily what Marie said.
“Years ago, Olivia and her sister, Shanice, lived in Frederickport with their parents, Elmer and Helen Mallory. I knew them, but we weren’t especially close. Friendly, but not someone I socialized with. Elmer got a new job and moved his family to Texas.” Marie paused a moment, and Danielle repeated her words for the non-mediums.
“When over at Pearl’s…” Marie frowned and added, “I guess it’s not Pearl’s anymore. When I was over at Olivia’s, she received a FaceTime call from her sister, Shanice. And it clicked. I figured that’s who it had to be.” Marie glanced at Danielle and waited for her to repeat for Brian and Lily what she said.
“Do you know anything about them?” Heather asked.
“Shanice’s mother, Helen, was close to Esther Meek. After the Mallorys moved from Frederickport, the girls and Helen came every summer and spent a week with Esther. When the girls got older, Helen came alone. You know how teenagers are. They always want to stay home with their friends,” Marie explained. When Danielle repeated what Marie said, she paraphrased, leaving out the name of the friend they had visited in Frederickport, and referred to her as Helen’s Frederickport friend.
“I suppose you don’t know anything about Olivia as an adult?” Danielle asked.
“A little. At least, what Esther told me over the years. While Helen and I had not been close and we didn’t keep in touch after they moved, I would periodically ask Esther how they were all doing. Esther is a bit of a gossip, so she loved sharing all the details. The older sister never married, but Olivia married a pastor’s son and became very involved with the church. It surprised Esther, because the Mallorys weren’t churchgoers. Olivia had two sons.”
“So she’s a widow now?” Danielle asked, without repeating what Marie had told them.
Marie shook her head. “No. Esther told me that not long after the youngest graduated from high school, she divorced her husband. Her sons sided with the father and had nothing to do with their mother after the divorce. From what Esther said, it had been an abusive relationship. Apparently, Olivia’s parents had no idea all that had been going on. They had moved to California for Elmer’s job not long after their second grandson was born. They always felt their son-in-law was very controlling, but they were unaware of the abuse. After Olivia separated, she moved from Texas to live with her parents in California. She didn’t have anything after the marriage ended. I got the impression she wanted out of the marriage and left with not much more than her clothes. At the time, she had no work experience outside the home. She had been a stay-at-home mother for all those years.”
Heather updated Brian and Lily on what Marie had said so far. After the retelling, she asked, “If she was married all those years and raised the two sons, she should have at least gotten half of whatever the husband had.”
Marie shrugged. “It doesn’t always work that way. She stayed with her parents, and she had therapy. From what Helen told Esther, it was quite traumatic for Olivia. Not just leaving her marriage and having her sons reject her, but all the friends she’d had at her church, people who had become such an important part of her life, they all sided with the husband. After all, it was the woman’s duty to stay with her husband. Ladies at the church told her she needed to find out what she was doing wrong to make her husband act that way. According to them, she had taken a vow, and it was her duty to obey her husband. They told her she needed to pray on it to save her marriage.” Marie gave a snort and added, “Esther said she began questioning everything about her church. Looking at it critically and examining everything she had once believed. At least, what they had taught her to believe after joining her father-in-law’s church.”
“Sounds like Olivia was going through deconstruction,” Heather said. Everyone glanced at Heather while Danielle repeated what Marie had said. After Danielle finished repeating Marie’s words, Heather said, “I have some friends who’ve gone through deconstruction. They question what they learned in organized religion. Questioned the patriarchy.”
“Elmer Mallory passed away a few years after Olivia’s divorce. From what Esther told me, Olivia embarked on a spiritual mission of discovery. She dabbled in everything from Buddhism to paganism. I don’t think Esther approved. Helen passed away a few years after her husband, and I assume they divided their estate between the two daughters. Which was good for Olivia if what Esther told me was true, that Olivia left her marriage virtually penniless. The Mallorys were well off. After Helen’s death, Esther didn’t stay in touch with the family, so I’m not sure what happened to them after that. It’s entirely possible Olivia remarried, and she is a widow or divorced again.”
“The other sister never married?” Lily asked after Danielle repeated Marie’s last words.
“Not that I’m aware of. But it’s certainly possible. She was more of a free spirit, according to Esther. She had several live-in relationships over the years, but no marriage or children. And while the parents never realized Olivia was in an abusive relationship, apparently her sister, Shanice, didn’t care for the brother-in-law. In fact, after the oldest son was born, Olivia’s husband had forbidden his wife to have anything to do with the sister, claimed she was immoral, and he wouldn’t subject his family to that type of influence.”
“Did Olivia do what her husband told her to do?” Heather asked indignantly. “Cut her sister out of her life?”
Marie nodded. “Yes. At least until she left him.” Danielle then repeated all that Marie said.
“What did the parents think about that?” Heather asked. “You said they didn’t realize he was abusive. That’s freaking abusive.”
“You have to remember, my generation was raised to accept certain behavior from husbands. They didn’t recognize it as abuse, not as we do now,” Marie explained.
“And in many fundamentalist churches today, that’s still true,” Danielle said. “Like in the church Olivia attended.”
“I suspect her parents initially believed Olivia was happy in her marriage. It had been her choice to join her husband’s church. It’s not that they weren’t Christians too. But some churches are a little more rigid when interpreting the roles of a husband and wife. Women typically vowed to love, honor, and obey. I also suspect Elmer and Helen didn’t want to do anything to risk being cut off from their grandchildren.”
After Danielle finished retelling what Marie told them, she said, “I guess that answers one question we had. No reason to do any more research on Olivia’s siblings. She obviously doesn’t have a twin.”
Heather looked at Danielle. “Unless it’s a sibling who might pass as a twin. I’ve known sisters who could pass as twins but are a few years apart in age.”
Marie smiled at Heather. “No, I don’t think that’s the case in this situation. One thing I didn’t mention. Shanice was adopted. She’s black.”
“What did Marie say?” Lily asked, once again hating being unable to hear both sides of the conversation and relying on a translator.
Heather looked at Lily. “Olivia’s sister was adopted, and she’s black. So no way is there a twin out there.”
The next moment Eva arrived in the room, sans the snowflakes or fanfare.
“Eva is here,” Walt announced.
“Did you learn anything else?” Marie asked.
Eva shrugged. “The conversation between the two was quite boring. And when it ended, she took that pad device back into the living room and used it to start watching a movie. Since it was not just a movie I’d seen before, it was also one I didn’t care for, I decided there was really no reason for me to stay over there.”
Danielle repeated for Brian and Lily what Eva said.
“I’m wondering if we should have a little talk with this friend of the mother. Marie, does she still live in Frederickport?” Brian asked.
“Tell Brian no. She moved a couple of years ago.”
After Danielle repeated Marie’s answer, Brian asked, “Do you have her number? We could call her.”
“I’m afraid Esther and I drifted apart several years before my death. I’d heard she moved to Florida.”
Again, Danielle repeated Marie’s words.
Brian frowned. “You said Esther? What was her last name?”
“Esther Meek,” Danielle said, remembering what Marie had said earlier.
“Esther Meek? Are you sure?” Brian asked.
Marie frowned. “Yes. Why?”
“What is it, Brian?” Heather asked.
“Betty Kelty was renting her aunt’s house. Her aunt who moved to Florida. Betty Kelty was Esther’s niece,” Brian explained.