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Amelia pressed her hand to her heart, willing it to slow down. Jimmy was such an idiot. A freaking idiot.
He’d gotten it wrong. Almost all wrong. Implying that Clara was the product of some affair between their mom and Matt?
Gross.
And, wrong.
Jimmy and all his false bravado about helping repair the house and enjoying some romantic interlude while they were in town was a hilarious fantasy. Not even a fantasy. A joke. He was a joke! Their relationship was a joke. Especially in contrast to the very real family situation that lay before them now.
She bounced Jimmy from her mind and wrapped a protective arm around Clara. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” she whispered, regretting ever mentioning anything to that halfwit.
“Please,” Kate interrupted. “Will everyone give us some privacy?” Amelia’s older sister pierced Megan, Amelia, and then Matt each with a glare.
“Okay,” Amelia answered, giving Clara one last hug and nodding Megan and Matt through to the back porch.
***
Once they were outside, Amelia couldn’t bear the burden of being separated from the secret that Kate was about to reveal inside the house. It was almost painful, the keep-awayness of it all. But the truth was not Amelia’s to handle.
Matt blew out a sigh, shoved his hands in his pockets, and—without a word—walked down to the beach, not bothering to glance behind.
Amelia started after him, but Megan interceded. “Let him go, Amelia.”
She turned and faced Megan. “Shouldn’t he be in there?”
Megan shrugged. “It’s not our call. Let’s just mind our own business for now. I’m sure Kate will call us in when she’s ready.”
Amelia set Dobi down in the grass and unhooked his leash. He dashed away, leery enough of the sea wall to stay near.
“I can’t stand this,” Amelia whispered, stretching her arms in a wide circle above her head. “I can’t stand it!”
Megan answered, “Let’s get our minds off of it. Talk about something else.”
“Like what? What could we possibly have to talk about while they are in there dealing with this?” Amelia drew a dramatic circle around the property, as though it was the pit of the big drama.
“Jimmy, for starters,” Megan replied, a tired smile curling her mouth.
“Nothing to talk about there. He made a fool out of himself. Case closed.”
“Are you going to break up with him finally?” Megan pressed.
“Are you going to divorce Brian?” Amelia shot back, an attitude edging into her voice, though from where it came was beyond her.
Megan glanced at her phone then clicked it off. Amelia had an opportunity and an instinct, and she went for it, snatching the phone from Megan’s hand and turning her back sharply as she turned the screen on and shuffled through Megan’s apps as she wailed behind Amelia, clawing her back.
Amelia deftly avoided giving up the device long enough to open the dating app. As she began scrolling through the unfamiliar interface, it occurred to her that Megan had stopped protesting all together. Instead, the younger, darker Hannigan sister now stood a couple of feet away, her arms crossed and her lower lip trembling.
“Megan,” Amelia said, her voice low. She dropped the phone and held it out. “I’m sorry. I was just joking. I shouldn’t have—”
Megan wiped an errant tear from her cheek and took the phone before tapping quickly and flashing the phone up to Amelia’s face. “See?”
Amelia leaned forward and squinted. A digital inbox glowed back at her. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to see, so she shook her head helplessly back.
“Look,” Megan pressed the phone back at Amelia, forcing her to take it and study it closer. “I don’t know why I’m being weird about it. Just look, if you’re so curious.”
Four messages fell beneath what appeared to be Megan’s “profile,” which offered the shadow of a head instead of Megan’s photo and a semi-anonymous handle, meg_2020.
Amelia glanced up at Megan, whose eyes were now dry and, curiously, even smiled back. A... nervous smile?
“Mark47 says, ‘can i get a pic?’” Amelia read aloud.
Megan lifted an eyebrow and nodded her on.
Amelia went to the next. “TheBigMichigander says, ‘Hi. How are you?’”
This time, Megan shrugged.
“You didn’t answer them,” Amelia pointed out, reading on to find that the next two messages were also vague and unreturned. “So, you’re testing the water?” Amelia prompted, completely absorbed by the unfolding circumstances despite everything else going on just yards away in the house.
“In a way,” Megan replied. She shook her head and rubbed her thumbs beneath her eyes as if to clear the threat of more tears.
“What’s going on?” Amelia asked, confused by Megan’s veiled hints and moodiness.
A deep sigh lifted Megan’s chest. She glanced up at the house then fixed her gaze back on Amelia. “I’m not on that thing to meet men.”
Amelia stole another look at the phone, trying to discern something—anything. She came up empty. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s embarrassing, I guess. I don’t know. I didn’t want to say anything until I worked it out.”
“So you are seeing someone?”
“No,” Megan answered, her eyes drifting off until they landed on Matt in the distance. Amelia followed her stare. Sadness tugged at her heart. There were so many answers for them to uncover, and time was of the essence. At least, if Amelia wanted to return to the city in time to resume her waitress gig and prep for Lady Macbeth.
“Then what, Megan? Spell it out, for the love of God. Spell. It. Out.”
“I applied to work for them,” Megan answered, covering her mouth as she said it.
Amelia frowned. “What?”
“I applied to work for the app. The matchmaking app. Just before Mom’s funeral. I haven’t heard back yet, but I wanted to get an idea of what it was like. You know?”
“So that’s it? That’s what you’ve been keeping from us?” Amelia laughed.
A sheepish smile took hold of Megan’s mouth. “It’s... look, I haven’t even heard back yet. I don’t have the tech skills, probably. And what matchmaking company would hire someone who’s in the middle of a divorce?”
Grinning broadly now, Amelia rushed Megan in a hug, burying her face in her sister’s shoulder. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered.
Megan laughed in reply. “Your standards must be low. You’re proud of me for applying for a job and keeping it a secret?”
“No,” Amelia replied. “I’m proud of you for following your dream.”